Force of Will: Card Masters
by Ryuzuki98
Summary: What happens when a normal card game reveals itself for what it really is? Novice player Yoshimitsu Hayashi and his friends will find that out the hard way as they will uncover the mysterious origins of Force of Will, one of the most popular card games in the world. A collaboration with fellow writer Zoicite23. Note: contains references to other manga and original cards.
1. Chapter 1: Ordinary Day

Chapter 1: Ordinary day

It was a normal day in Tokyo, with the sun high in the sky and no clouds to be seen. A boy felt the sun rays on his face, passing from the window of his bedroom, and woke up. His name was Yoshimitsu Hayashi. He had short fair hair and green eyes. His room had a bed, a chair, a desk with a computer, several chests of drawers, a wardrobe and some bookshelves stuffed with books and manga, which he was passionate about. He checked the clock.

"It's 7 o'clock! I should hurry...".

He brushed his teeth, washed his face and changed from his pajamas to his school uniform, and he had just finished changing when his mother called from downstairs

"Yoshimitsu! Breakfast is ready!"

"I'm coming, mom!" he answered readily as he descended the stairs and came into the kitchen. His mother, who had shoulder long fair hair tied up in a tail and amber eyes, asked him in a gentle tone

"How's it going? It hasn't been much since school started, after all...".

Yoshimitsu laughed lightly and answered "Don't worry, mom. I'm slowly but steadily getting used to it again.".

His mother joked "Maybe with that you mean getting used to be waiting for the end of the year again!"

"Ahaha! Mom, please!" said Yoshimitsu with a laugh as he finished his breakfast. He then went to the door of their house, put on his shoes and headed off to high school.

"I'm leaving!" he said to his mother, and she told him "Take care!".

Fortunately, his high school wasn't very far away from home, and so, after ten minutes, he arrived in time.

In the Makuhari High School of the Chiba Prefecture, in his class, excitement was in the air, and Yoshimitsu quickly took notice of it as he greeted with a smile his classmates, who, in turn, greeted him back

"Oh, hi Hayashi-kun!"

This was routine, after all, but still, everyone looked more psyched than usual. He was about to reach his desk, when he was grabbed by the shoulder by a guy who told him, with a familiar voice "Wazzup, Yoshi!"

The guy had short, slightly spiky brown hair and brown eyes that matched, Yoshimitsu recognized the voice, turned around and greeted his classmate back

"Hello, Zappa! How are you?".

"I'm fine, thanks! Have you heard?" Zappa asked his friend

"I was about to ask you, in fact… What's going on?" said the fair-haired boy, with perplexity.

The answer came shortly "We're about to have a new classmate!". The news surprised Yoshimitsu, and his classmate, enjoying the look that was on his face, kept going "As you have most certainly noticed, everyone is curious to know who's it gonna be, and of course, that goes for me, Zappa Kurosawa, too!" as he put up a glory fist.

A classmate interrupted "Kurosawa-kun, Hayashi-kun, you should get to your desks, the teacher is coming!"

"Oh, thanks!" said Yoshimitsu with gratitude, as he got to his desk, followed up by Zappa.

Their homeroom teacher entered the room.

"Hello everyone! As you know, today a new student will join our class." he said, with a serious but still somewhat bright tune. Then, he turned to the classroom's door and said "Please, come in!".

A boy with spiky red hair and brown-red eyes entered the classroom and bowed respectfully to everyone. Yoshimitsu turned to his friend and saw that there was a stunned look on his face. Then, the boy presented himself as he wrote his name on the blackboard

"My name is Ryuuji Yamazaki, Nice to meet you!".

The teacher showed him to an empty desk, at Yoshimitsu's left side, while at his right side was Zappa's desk, and he sat right there. Then, the teacher said

"Well then, if there's nothing else, let's proceed with our lesson.".

It was the hour of History, a subject that Yoshimitsu enjoyed very much, alongside Philosophy. The teacher said, with a serious tone:

"Now I will call a student to tell what did we do in the previous lesson, so that our new classmate may catch up. Yoshimitsu Hayashi! Stand up!". The boy was a bit startled by the call, but he did what he was told.

"Y-Yes sir?"

Two classmates behind him talked about him. One of them chuckled as he talked "Hehehe, it's always like this, Hayashi-kun is quite the shy guy.".

The other one replied "Yeah, but that doesn't change the fact that he is usually the best in our class in History. How will he go now, I wonder..."

Both Yoshimitsu and the teacher heard them, though Yoshimitsu understood what they were saying and it made him feel more uncomfortable.

"Silence!" shouted the teacher to the two students, before turning back to Yoshimitsu and questioning him

"Hayashi, have you been paying attention?"

"O-Of course, sir!" he said, before cleaning his throat, in order to ease himself up, and giving a clean answer to the teacher's inquiry.

"We had just begun to talk about Emperor Mutsuhito, also known as Emperor Meiji, who ruled Japan from 1867 to 1912 and, taking advantage of some Western knowledge, modernized Japan, in order to make it able to stand up to Western countries, thus creating the premises of the future massive technological growth of Japan!".

The teacher smiled "Excellent! Is there something else you can add?".

"Well, he was the one who broke the de-facto dual power system which controlled Japan until then, and, to further ensure and celebrate the return of the Imperial power to its full extent, he transferred the capital from Kyoto to this city, Tokyo.".

"Outstanding! I expected nothing less from you. Sit back down, please." said the teacher. As Yoshimitsu sat down, his classmate behind him said to his companion

"See?".

The rest of the day went quite smoothly, and then came break time.

Yoshimitsu, before exiting the classroom, asked Zappa

"Why were you so surprised to see that guy in here? Do you know him?".

His classmate, with a slightly nervous expression on his face, answered

"You see, yesterday afternoon I was beaten pretty badly in a Force of Will trading card game duel… By him!"

"Oh." said Yoshimitsu in surprise. He had heard a lot about that card game, and knew that Zappa played it, but he never had a chance to try it, even though he had a deck.

"That's not all that bad, though." continued Zappa, with a smirk "Since he entered our class, this will allow me to study him and finally have my rematch against him! He will fear the wrath of Zappa Kurosawa!".

Ryuuji overheard the conversation and said "I suggest you to focus on training your skills in card games, instead of trying to study me! There's not much that you can learn from me that way, y'know?".

Zappa was petrified, his mouth gaping wide in disbelief. As the new student got out of the class, though, Yoshimitsu could see that he was hiding a stack of cards in his uniform jacket. He eventually reached him in the hallway and shyly approached him, since it was pretty hard for him to approach new people.

"Um…".

The boy turned around and answered him happily "Yes?".

Yoshimitsu backed off a little, startled, then he mustered up some courage and asked, in a low voice "You know it's not a good idea to take cards at school, right?".

Ryuuji laughed it off "Ahaha, yeah. Don't worry, I'm not using them. It's just a beacon for potential players!".

"A beacon?" asked the fair-haired boy

"Yes, I show those cards to people I think that they could enjoy the game I'm playing at."

"And in which you've destroyed my classmate, I've heard.".

Ryuuji scratched the back of his head and, with a big smile, said "Yeah, he wasn't that good. But I have a feeling that you would like playing this game a lot, even more so now that I know that you're friends with that guy.".

"You think so?" asked Yoshimitsu, surprised.

Ryuuji happily answered "Absolutely! Tell me, have you played any trading card games before?"

"No, but I love anime, manga and games, and so I heard about card games a lot, even though I never played one. In particular, I've followed a lot Force of Will, and I always check the news about it, since it's one of the most popular card games out there."

"Ooohh" said the red-haired boy. "So this is your first time playing a card game, eh?"

"Er… Yes." answered Yoshimitsu, a little embarassed.

Ryuuji, noticing his discomfort, decided to avoid teasing him any further and cut to the cheese.

"Anyways, your name is Yoshimitsu Hayashi, right?" he asked, tending a hand to his new classmate

"Yes. I'm pleased to meet you!" he answered, shaking Ryuuji's hand.

"The pleasure is all mine!" he replied "So, I'm going to my hideout this afternoon, wanna join in?"

"Hideout?" asked Yoshimitsu, perplexed.

"It's the place where I train in this card game." answered the red-haired boy.

His classmate thought about it for a moment, and then he accepted.

"Great! Don't worry, It won't be right after school. The name of the place is Yellow Submarine. You can't get wrong!".

"Yellow Submarine? I've heard a lot about that place..." said Yoshimitsu.

"Then it won't be a problem for you to reach it, I hope. I'm looking forward to it!" replied Ryuuji, happily, before heading off.

"See you soon!" said Yoshimitsu, when a girl approached him from behind, unnoticed.


	2. Chapter 2: Gimp-spotting

Chapter 2: Gimp-spotting

Hiniku Kashikoi considered herself many things. The short girl was intelligent, witty, resourceful, cunning… and modest. Okay not modest. She did have a brilliant mind however – one that worked super-fast to equip her with the most appropriate snarky comebacks in any given conversation. So what if humility wasn't a part of her myriad good qualities? She supposed everyone had flaws, and it would seem her single flaw was the inability to be graceful when displaying her obvious smarts.

Hiniku (nicknamed 'Honey' by people who didn't know it pissed her off, like a few idiot classmates, or by people who were purposely trying to piss her off, like her passive-aggressive psychologist parents) considered herself many things. She was an opportunist, an expert in mind games, and games in general. So when she approached Yoshimitsu she had an eager smile on her face, fiddling with the fake plastic elf-ears attached to her head. She'd overheard a conversation from the boy, and the opportunist in her was rising to the occasion. To get his attention she jabbed him in the back with her finger and he jumped around.

"Oh!" Yoshimitsu's green eyes widened. "Honey-san!"

"Hiniku." She corrected with a frown.

"Sorry, Hiniku-san. Can I help you?" He blinked a little mystified.

They didn't usually talk. Hiniku was very asocial and made little to no effort making friends. She had some conversations with Yoshimitsu because he was beating her in History and Philosophy class, taking the top rank which was usually awarded to her. Also, look at his completely innocent puppy-dog face. Hiniku couldn't resist giving the guy a hard time every now and again. She reached up to tuck a strand of chin-length blonde hair behind her abnormally long fake ear, her grey eyes blinked innocently.

"I couldn't help overhearing…" Hiniku continued fiddling with her plastic elf-ear dreamily "You discussing with the new student, Ryuuji-san, about a certain card game. Would this card game happen to be Force of Will?"

"Ah, yes. It is. Do you play, Hiniku-san?"

"As a matter of fact I do. We should have a game some time. If you'd expect a duel between us to be anything like the ranking results of our last History test, I'm sure you'd be sorely mistaken. Meaning: I would beat you so fast your head would be spinning like a twist-top."

"Oh wow." Yoshimitsu looked taken aback. "Well, yeah, I do like playing Force of Will. But I didn't bring my deck to school."

"Relax, piglet. I didn't either. But seeing as our new Ryuuji-san is disobeying the rules maybe all us other card game enthusiasts ought to take the reins on this display of flipping off general school regulations."

"Right… okay…"

"I'm sure we'll duel sometime. And then I'll get to utterly destroy you. Hence the previous twist-top metaphor."

"I can't tell if you're trying to get me excited, or are just making fun of me." Yoshimitsu stated innocently. "Are you making fun of me, Hiniku-san?"

"Of course not." She said the words with such intensity, such emotion, without even breaking eye-contact, that her sincerity looked over-the-top and made Yoshimitsu even less certain about what was going on. Abruptly Hiniku's expression lightened "Bring your cards next time, kay?"

She reached up to routinely adjust her plastic elf ears and the other boy stared at her.

"Why do you wear those elf-ears all the time at school, Hiniku-san? Don't you think it's a bit… silly?"

"I'm not an elf." She responded, mock-offended. "I'm a squirrel. Oink oink."

They stared at each other for what seemed like half a minute. Then Hiniku started giggling and relief flooded Yoshimitsu's face as he realised she was only joking. Abruptly her face turned serious again and Yoshimitsu stopped smiling as well. Another pause. Hiniku giggled again and Yoshimitsu raised an eyebrow as if she were insane.

The girl turned away "Farewell piglet, I look forward to our inevitable match."

"Yeah… sure…"

Ah… that had been satisfying. A teacher walking down the hallway frowned at her and she averted her eyes. Makuhari High School had a reasonably strict dress code. Everyone had to wear the uniform, however girls were still allowed to wear make-up, necklaces and other jewellery if they wanted. Hiniku had seen other girls in her class wearing hoop earrings and getting away with it. So since accessories were allowed, no one was technically able to tell her to stop wearing the fake ears. Girls her age were so superficial about their appearances. Hiniku's childish cosplaying was more about mocking those girls for how ridiculous they actually were. She gave zero fucks about fitting into a mould of brainless desperate teenagers and fashion trends.

She also enjoyed toying with people. And making them uncomfortable. A strange disposition, admittedly, but making other people uncomfortable was the only real satisfaction she got from social interaction.

Hiniku turned the corner to where the lockers were lined up. Beneath her flat shoes the chequered floor stretched ahead of her, groups of students strolling about while chatting. The wide window on one side looked down at the courtyard, the bright sun shining off the floor. Upon recognizing the boy with his nose pressed up against the glass she went to walk by him quick but unfortunately he spotted her.

"Hey~! Shortie!"

"Don't call me that."

"Honey-chan."

"I will kick you in the nuts."

"Sorry, babe." The guy with the buzz-cut brown hair scratched his head awkwardly and gave a goofy smile. "I just wanted to show you something." As he said it Hiniku raised an eyebrow. "N-no! I didn't mean that in like… a pervy way!"

"I know you didn't mean it in a pervy way you insufferable nincompoop."

"Right…"

His name was Renbo Aichaku, or Ren for short. 'Annoying Idiot' worked just as well as a name for this guy though. He was arrogant (probably) about his looks because he worked out and knew martial arts. He was also proud of his gamer status, being able to flit himself between both the sporty and nerd social circles. Hiniku thought being proud of your ability to get people to like you was stupid. To make him feel bad she challenged him to a video game at a public venue and beat him. Instead of his self-esteem being crushed, he unfortunately got a massive crush on her instead.

"Wait a second…" Distracted, Hiniku stepped forward to the window. "Is that…?"

"Yep." Ren stood beside her and they peered down at a figure in black clothing and a gas mask, hunkering about the corner of the library. "It's a gimp."

One of Ren's other hobbies was gimp-spotting.

"It's the first time I've seen one." Hiniku confessed, watching the figure waddle around aimlessly like a lost pet.

"Seriously? There's been sightings all over town. Heaps of these guys just… around. I don't know. It's pretty weird."

"Seems kind of sinister." Hiniku scratched her chin and the taller boy beside her shrugged.

"I think the gimps are pretty harmless. They don't ever seem to be doing anything when I see them."

"Still sounds like something someone should be checking into. I mean, what are they? Are they people?"

"Rumour is they're zombies. Or some kind of freaky Frankenstein creation that is being mass-produced on an assembly line by a mad scientist or something." Ren watched Hiniku's sceptical look turn to himself. "Are you not a fan of scary things, Hiniku-chan?"

"I don't scare easily. Anyway that's a weird question."

"Cause there's this awesome new horror movie out in the cinemas…" He shamelessly continued with his segway. "Or we could watch something romancey I don't care. Like a chick-flick."

"Do I look like I watch chick-flicks?" Hiniku squinted up at him.

"Ah… do you like… movies about… elves?"

"No. Go away." Hiniku continued on so she could go eat lunch in the library by herself. Hopefully the gimp or whatever would've wandered off by the time she got down there.

"Okay! Okay!" Ren followed her, relentless, like a hungry mosquito. "If not me, who would you go to the movies with? Is it… that guy Baka?" His voice took on a sour note.

"Baka is as dumb as his name suggests. He is in fact, probably the only person I know who is more annoying than you. The way he bothers poor, sweet Tonma… unbelievable. At least you have the tact to not ask me out _every_ time you see me. But that Baka idiot is always terrorizing her."

"Tonma is the only person you're not mean and nasty to, right?"

"Yeah, I suppose she is."

"Well she is pretty cute too. In a nerdy, shy kind of way. With her glasses and notebooks." Ren looked up thoughtfully. "Hey, maybe I'll ask Tonma if she wants to go to the movies with me!"

"Don't you dare!" Hiniku whipped around and jabbed him in the chest.

"Woah, what?"

"A horror movie would traumatise dear, sweet Tonma! And she has difficulty talking to boys anyway! She goes all red and stutters and then runs away!"

"Why are you so angry, Honey-chan?" Ren blinked. "I've never seen you this way before. Are you jealous? Does that mean you _do_ actually like me?"

"Listen here you bumbling barf-brained dung-licker ingrate! The day I go on a date with you is the day I forfeit my magnanimous amount of self-respect, empty all my cards and books into the river and eject myself in linear propulsion toward the sun. Got that, you weasel-faced shit-pecker dicklark?"

With hackles raised Hiniku squared her shoulders and bustled away from the perplexed boy, over to the stairs so she could eat her damn lunch in the peace and quiet of solitude in the school library.


	3. Chapter 3: Old Blade

Chapter 3: Old Blade.

After his encounter with Hiniku, Yoshimitsu headed to the cafeteria to eat lunch. He was quickly reached by Zappa.

"Yo, Yoshi! Don't think that you can get of rid of me that easily!"

"Who's trying to get rid of you?" replied the fair-haired boy, innocently.

"Same old, same old! Not even a tiny bit of evil in your mind!" commented his classmate, with a grin that went from one ear to the other. Then his expression turned serious and he asked him "Anyway, why did you tell that to Kashikoi-san? You haven't played a Force of Will game before..."

"I know, but I do like the game, and hopefully I'll know the rules by the time I face her." answered Yoshimitsu, with a glimmer of hope, which was noticeable both in his face and in his words.

"You'd better not waste the chance that Yamazaki guy is giving you! I'm sure Kashikoi-san is no pushover, she is a genius girl after all..." advised Zappa to his friend. "By the way, do you know that a gimp has been spotted near the library?"

"Yeah, I've heard of that. They've been appearing in all of Chiba more than once, and there are rumors that there might be some even in the other districts of Tokyo."

"I wonder what happens if someone gets too close to one of those things..." said Zappa, with his fingers on his chin.

"Maybe it's best not to find out..." answered Yoshimitsu, scared and with a tense voice "They may have not harmed anyone up to now, but they still look ominous..."

"Ha, like I, Zappa Kurosawa, should be scared of some wandering gimps!" busted out the brown-spiked guy, in a blast of confidence, leaving Yoshimitsu to scratch his cheek with his index in slight embarassment…

After lunch, the few other classes remaining weren't much of a problem, and then Yoshimitsu headed back home.

"I'm back!" he said, as he opened the door of his house and took off his shoes to enter.

"Welcome back!" said his mother warmly.

After doing his homework, which was not much, fortunately, he took a small box from one of his drawers and opened it, to reveal a Force of Will deck.

" _This deck was given to me by my father, as a surprise..._ " the boy thought to himself. His father was a historian and his work made him travel abroad a lot, in order to uncover all the mysteries surrounding all the cultures of the world. There was no doubt that Yoshimitsu inherited from him the passion for history and mythos.

" _He said to me that a chance to use this deck might present in the future… I've kept this close and safe ever since, waiting for a chance to play with this deck, and now it seems that the time has come_.".

After getting out of his uniform and changing in a plain yellow T-shirt, blue jeans and a blue jacket, he put the deck back in the box, put it in the inner pocket of the jacket and went back downstairs.

"Mom, I'm going out with a friend this afternoon." he said to his mother.

"Where are you going?" she asked him.

"Oh, I'm going to the Yellow Submarine. I'll use the railway to get there."

"That place? Does your friend play card games?" his mother asked

"Yes..." answered he, with a slight blush of embarassment.

"That means you're about to make use of Dad's present!" said she, with a warm smile. "Your father would love to hear how it goes with it!"

"And I will tell him when he comes back!" said Yoshimitsu.

After that, he headed off to go meeting Ryuuji Yamazaki. He knew that the Yellow Submarine was a little far from where he lived, but, with the railway, he got there in about half an hour.

He was in front of the Yellow Submarine, a card shop known for its vast stocks, and he found Ryuuji waiting for him at the entrance, who greeted him with a big smile.

"Hello, Yoshimitsu! Welcome to the Yellow Submarine!"

"Thanks, Ryuuji!" said Yoshimitsu.

"My pleasure! I love introducing new people to this great game!" replied Ryuuji, happily, as he took the fair-haired boy to the gaming tables. The gaming area wasn't very large, so it couldn't host many players, but it was still in great conditions, perfect for new players. There weren't many people at the moment, so there were more tables available for the two of them to practice on. Ryuuji made Yoshimitsu sit down at one of the tables.

"Now sit there and wait a moment, I'll fetch you a trial deck."

"I don't need one, thanks..." Yoshimitsu stopped the red-haired boy "I do have a deck, even though I never had the chance to learn how to use it, until now."

"Perfect, then! We can begin right away!". Ryuuji's grin widened as he sat down in front of Yoshimitsu.

"Take a look at your deck. It should have a two-sided card, called a Ruler, some Magic Stones, and many other cards, which we'll look in detail as we play.".

Yoshimitsu checked his deck and found the Magic Stone cards and the Ruler card. It was a strange card, depicting a cat with a big red hat on its head and a rapier at its side. Its name appeared to be Puss in Boots. The card also had a small image of a leaf, which most likely represented the attribute of the card.

"Oh, it's Puss in Boots! So your deck is most likely a wind Musketeer deck." Ryuuji noticed as he placed his own ruler on the Table. It was Snow White, a princess dressed in white and looking at an apple. Its attribute was Fire, as it was clearly seen from the small image of a bonfire on it. Ryuuji, then, went on explaining.

"The first thing to do is separate the Ruler, which is placed on the table from the get-go, the Magic Stones and the other cards, which form two separate decks: the Main Deck and the Magic Stone Deck."

Yoshimitsu did as he was told, put his Ruler on the table and made two separate stacks, one containing the Magic Stones, the other containing all the other cards. Ryuuji did the same.

"Good, then shuffle both decks." said Ryuuji. And Yoshimitsu did so.

After doing the same, Ryuuji continued.

"Now draw 5 cards from your Main Deck. Keep in mind that if you don't think that some of the cards you've drawn will be useful to you at the moment, you can put them at the bottom of your deck and re-draw. This action is called mulligan.". Yoshimitsu drew his 5 cards, but did not mulligan any card, since he still didn't have a real strategy for using the deck.

"Good, now let's rock!" said Ryuuji, enthusiastic. "Since it's your first time, I'll go first. Look closely at what I do.". Then he performed his actions.

"I rest Snow White to get a Magic Stone from my Magic Stone Deck.". He then put his Ruler in horizontal position, drew a card from the Magic Stone Deck, and put it on the table. It was a Fire Stone.

"I'll use it right away!" said Ryuuji "I rest the Fire Stone to summon to the field Wolf-Haunted in Black Forest.". As he said these words, he slammed on the table a card depicting a red-eyed girl with a wolf at her side.

"In this game, both monsters, or Resonators as the game puts it, and spells, or Chants, must be played by resting Magic Stones." explained Ryuuji "They produce the will that allows you to play your cards when you rest them, and are your main means to do so."

"I see. Thanks." said Yoshimitsu.

"Also, when you summon a monster, you can't attack with it right away. You'll have to wait a turn to either make it attack or rest it in order to use its rest abilities, unless it has a symbol skill called "Swiftness" written on it. Got it?"

"Yes." confirmed Yoshimitsu.

"My Wolf-Haunted in Black Forest doesn't have such an ability, so it's your move now. Since you started as second, you get to draw a card."

Yoshimitsu drew his card. It beared the image of a priest with a green energy and was of Wind attribute. It was a Resonator called "Elvish Priest".

"You can see the will required to play the cards by looking at their upper left side." explained Ryuuji. "There are attribute signs that tell you which specific will you need to use, and they may have a number near them. That number represents generic will required to play that card, which can be of any element. Also, some monsters possess particular abilities which might come in handy."

Yoshimitsu looked at the Elvish Priest and noticed that it had the special ability to be rested to produce will, like a Magic Stone. He then rested Puss in Boots to get a card from his Magic Stone Deck. It was a Wind Stone.

Then he said confidently "I summon Elvish Priest to the field!" as he rested his Magic Stone and put on the table his newly drawn card.

"Splendid decision!" said Ryuuji happily. "That monster can produce will as it was a Magic Stone, even though it makes him vulnerable to attacks, since monsters can attack only a player's Life Points or his rested monsters."

"Also, I can't use its ability since I summoned it this turn, correct?"

"Exactly!" confirmed Ryuuji, enthusiastically "You're beginning to get the hang of this!"

Yoshimitsu ended his turn, since he knew that there was nothing more he could do.

"From now on, at the start of his turn, every player draws a card" explained Ryuuji as he drew his card. "Also, at the start of his turn, every player recovers the card he had rested during his previous turn". He proceeded to recover his Magic Stone and then rested his Ruler to get another Fire Stone. He had two Fire Stones, and decided to rest both of them.

"I summon Seven Dwarves!". After Ryuuji performed his action, Yoshimitsu noticed that on the card that he played was written a white ability.

"Bloodlust? What is that?" he asked.

"Oh, it's a symbol skill" answered Ryuuji "there are many of them with different effects. In this case, I have to attack with this card in my turn if I can, which of course isn't now.". Then, he rested his Wolf-Haunted.

"I attack you with Wolf-Haunted" said Ryuuji. Then he proceeded to explain. "You can block with one of your monsters when I try to attack you or even your monsters to protect yourself or the target of my attack. Keep in mind that the defendant will take the damage for the target and its Defense Points will be brought down by the attack, and if they reach zero, the monster is destroyed."

"I see." said Yoshimitsu.

"So, will you block?"

The fair-haired boy examined the situation carefully. He could block the attack with his Elvish Priest, but Wolf-Haunted had 500 Attack Points, while his Elvish Priest had only 400 Defense Points, meaning that he wouldn't survive the attack. Thinking that he might need that will later on, he then decided.

"I won't block."

"Then you take 500 points of damage." explained Ryuuji "And, since at the start of a game every player has 4000 Life Points, you now have 3500 Life Points."

After the attack Ryuuji passed the turn to Yoshimitsu, who drew his card and recovered his stone.

After resting his Ruler to get another Wind Stone, he checked his hand. He found a strong card among those. It was a monster with 800 Attack and Defense Points, but it costed 4 wills to be played, 2 wind wills and 2 generic wills to be precise.

"Don't forget about your cards' abilities! Even your Ruler has one!" advised Ryuuji.

"Thanks a lot!" said Yoshimitsu, as he checked his Ruler.

" _Puss in Boots has the ability to make the player pay 1 will less to play Musketeer Resonators, and it appears that the monster I have in my hand is a Musketeer, meaning that I can summon it now._ ".

So the fair-haired boy proceeded to rest his 2 Wind Stones and his Elvish Priest to produce the wills he needed.

"I summon Athos of the Three Musketeers!".

"Great job!" said Ryuuji.

Yoshimitsu read the ability of the monster that he just had summoned and used it right away.

"When this monster is summoned, I get to search for an Armor from my Main Deck."

He then proceeded to search for a card that had the word "Armor" written somewhere. He found it soon and put it on the table, next to Athos. Its name was "Musketeer's Bayonet".

"Of course, I get to shuffle my deck after this." he said. Then, after randomizing again the cards, he kept going

"Normally, I would put the Armor in my hand, but ,since my Ruler is Puss in Boots, I'll equip it directly to Athos instead! Now it gains 400 more Attack Points for a total of 1200, and he gains First Strike and Pierce. Two more symbol skills, I see..."

"Awesome! You're learning rapidly! As for those two skills, I'll tell you about them later on."

"Okay." agreed Yoshimitsu.

Since Athos was summoned in that turn, it was unable to attack, so Yoshimitsu ended his turn.

"I draw and recover." said Ryuuji, then he rested his ruler again and, this time, he gained a strange Magic Stone.

"It seems that I've just gotten lucky! I've just gained a Stone of Heat Ray, a Special Magic Stone which produces both Light and Fire will!".

"Wow, that's some luck over there!" said Yoshimitsu, interested.

"Now look at this. I rest the Heat Ray right away to play Thunder!" As Ryuuji said this, he put on the table a Chant depicting a Thunder, costing only 1 Fire will and having another white ability written on it.

"Quickcast?" he asked

"It means that it can be played both during your turn or in the opponent's turn, when you have the chance." explained Ryuuji "This Chant inflicts 500 damage to a target Player, Resonator or J-Ruler. I choose your Elvish Priest."

"That means it will be destroyed!" exclaimed Yoshimitsu.

"Exactly! Now you put it in a separate zone, called Graveyard."

"Ok.". After he did that, though, Yoshimitsu couldn't help but ask a question.

"What is a J-Ruler?".

"It's a Ruler which has performed Judgement." answered Ryuuji "After that, it gains Attack and Defense Points and new abilities and can be still used to call stones, but loses its Ruler abilities. In your turn you can call stones or perform your Ruler's Judgement, but you can't do both."

"Ok. Thank you very much!" said Yoshimitsu.

"Now let's continue. I rest my two remaining stones to summon Moon Night Pouncer!" It was a Resonator with 500 Attack and Defense Points, and a fearsome ability.

"Whenever I play a Chant while this card is on the field, it gains First Strike and Swiftness until the end of the turn. Luckily for you, I've played Thunder before summoning it, so I can't use it right away."

He then proceeded to battle. "I attack you directly with Seven Dwarves".

Yoshimitsu thought " _If I guarded with Athos right now, Seven Dwarves would be destroyed, but Ryuuji might finish Athos off with Wolf-Haunted..."_

"I don't guard." he decided, and so, with the Seven Dwarves having 700 Attack and Defense points, he ended up having 2800 Life Points remaining.

"And now I'll tell you what Pierce is. I'll attack you directly with Wolf-Haunted." said Ryuuji.

It looked like he wanted Yoshimitsu to guard with Athos, which he did.

"As a result, not only my Wolf-Haunted is destroyed, but I lose 900 Life Points because of Pierce, which inflicts the difference between the Attack Points of the monster who has it and the Defense Points of its target."

"I understand now!" said Yoshimitsu. Ryuuji then continued on.

" Also, I lose 500 Life Points more because of Wolf-Haunted's ability, which inflicts me 500 damage when there's not a Moon on my side of the field, leaving me to 2600 Life Points. As for First Strike, if the monster destroys its target, it does not receive damage from it."

In response, Yoshimitsu nodded, showing that he understood.

Ryuuji then ended his turn, and Yoshimitsu drew his card and recovered all his rested cards.

"Keep in mind that at the end of the turn of any player, if there are Resonators which have taken damage but haven't been destroyed, that damage is healed, meaning that your Athos is at full strength now." precised Ryuuji.

"Ok". Said Yoshimitsu. Then he rested Puss in Boots and gained another Wind Stone.

"I rest a Wind Stone to summon Elvish Priest to the field!". It was the card that he had drawn at the start of his turn. He then checked his hand and noticed that he had a magic with Quickcast.

"With that I'll end my turn".

" _He seems to be up to something! He really is learning fast!_ " thought Ryuuji as he drew his card and recovered his cards.

"Now I play a Quickcast card!" said Yoshimitsu, confirming the red-haired boy's suspicions.

"I rest my two Wind Stones to play Law of Silence! For this turn you won't be able to play Resonators or Chants!"

"That's an excellent play!" said Ryuuji happily "However I can still do this..."

Then he rested his Heat Ray and discarded a card from his hand, putting it into the Graveyard.

"A Poison Apple?" asked Yoshimitsu

"Yes. By discarding it, I can pay much less will to perform Snow White's Judgement." explained Ryuuji. Then, he flipped the card on the table, revealing a much more ominous side of it

"Behold Bloody White Snow!"

It had 1300 Attack and Defense points and a new Symbol Skill "Precision".

"What does that Symbol Skill do?" asked Yoshimitsu

"It allows Bloody Snow White to attack not only rested J-Rulers or Resonators, but recovered ones, too!"

It didn't have Swiftness, though, so Ryuuji couldn't use it right away. Instead, he attacked with Seven Dwarves, an action which he was compelled to do by its ability, and it was guarded by Athos, resulting it its destruction and in the reduction of Ryuuji's Life Points to 2100 because of Athos's Pierce. With that the red-head ended his turn.

Yoshimitsu recovered his cards and drew an interesting card, one that completed his set, and that he could play rapidly with the help of his Elvish Priest, but…

"I rest one of my Fire Stones to play Thunder on your Elvish Priest!"

Since his turn ended, Ryuuji could now use Quickcast spells. As he put Elvish Priest into the graveyard, Yoshimitsu tried to rethink his strategy.

" _I hoped to be able to call them without having to call a Stone, so that I could perform Judgement… Well, plan B, I guess..._ "

As he checked his hand, he sees another white ability on a Chant he had in his hand. "Stealth"

"What is Stealth, and why does a Chant have that ability?" he asked

"Stealth means that you can put that Chant face down on the field, paying 2 generic wills, and then, when certain conditions are fulfilled, you can activate it without paying its cost. But you must at least control the number of stones producing the will needed to play it normally." explained Ryuuji. But, as he explained, he thought… " _That card… it might very well be..._ "

"Thanks" said Yoshimitsu, then he proceeded to perform his actions. He rested his Puss in Boots to gain another Wind Stone.

"I rest two of my 4 Wind Stones to summon Aramis of the Three Musketeers!". It was a Resonator with 500 Attack and Defense points, plus an useful ability.

"When Aramis enters the field, it produces 1 Wind will for every Musketeer on the field, including itself, meaning that I can play from my hand Porthos of the Three Musketeers without resting any Stone!"

That other Musketeer had 700 Attack Points, 400 Defense Points and Pierce.

"Then I rest my two remaining Stones to put a card face-down on the field, and I attack you directly with Athos!" Ryuuji didn't guard and his Life Points went down to 900.

"With that I'll end my turn."

Ryuuji proceeded to draw his card and recover all of his cards.

" _He still has 4 Wind Stones, so if it's "that" card he can't use it yet. I might use this to my advantage_ "

"I use Bloody Snow White's ability!" said Ryuuji. By paying 1 generic will and discarding a Poison Apple from his hand he could destroy a target resonator. He had 2 in his hand, with 1 Resonator…

"I use her ability twice to destroy your Athos and Porthos!"

" _No! The card I put face-down would have worked only if I had all three of them on the field!_ " thought Yoshimitsu.

"Then I rest my remaining Stone to play another Wolf-Haunted!" continued Ryuuji. Then he proceeded to attack. He destroyed Aramis by attacking with Bloody White Snow, thanks to her Precision skill, and then attacked directly with Moon Night Pouncer, reducing Yoshimitsu's Life Points to 2300.

"Your move." said Ryuuji.

" _Now he doesn't have any cards in his hand._ " thought Yoshimitsu " _But if he draws another spell or Poison Apple, I'm done for. I need to do something!_ "

He drew his card and recovered all his cards on the field. The card he had drawn was perfect to put him out of trouble, so, after resting his Puss in Boots once again, he used it right away.

"Now I have 5 Wind Stones, and I rest 3 of them to summon Athos of the Three Musketeers! And with his effect I'll equip it with a Musketeer's Bayonet from my deck!".

He couldn't attack, but he had something else I mind as he gave the turn to his opponent.

" _I managed to summon the most powerful of the Three Musketeers, hopefully it'll cover me while I assemble the other two. My face-down card is Siege Warfare. It can destroy a target Resonator or J-Ruler, but it can work only if all three of the Musketeers are assembled on the field..._ "

"I draw and recover." said Ryuuji, but, as soon as he had finished, he was hit by a Law of Silence paid with the remaining two Wind wills.

" _Good play, Yoshimitsu! You do have potential! A lot! But this duel is mine, sorry..._ "

The card he had drawn was his fourth Poison Apple, so Ryuuji discarded it and rested his Heat Ray to destroy Athos, dashing Yoshimitsu's last hope of victory. Lastly, he finished his opponent off with the combined attack of the Pouncer, with 500 Attack Points, the Wolf Haunted, with the same attack power, and Bloody White Snow, with 1300 Attack Points, thus bringing Yoshimitsu's Life Points down to zero and claiming his victory.

It could be seen in his eyes that, despite the defeat, Yoshimitsu enjoyed the battle a lot.

"So this is what a Force of Will game is like… Thanks Ryuuji!"

"No problem! You really are a great player! After you've learned the majority of the keywords, it hardly looked like your first game, y'know?"

"Really?" asked Yoshimitsu, surprised.

"Of course!" replied Ryuuji, with a big grin on his face. "With further training by playing more, I'm sure you'll score a win someday! But don't expect it to be easy!"

"Yeah, I'm still a newbie, after all… Thanks again, Ryuuji!"

"Hey, what do you think about meeting here again? There are some friends I'd like to present you."

"All right, sounds good!"

"Also, next time I'll give you some advice on deck building. You'll need that because modifying the deck is a very important step of playing."

"Ok."

"So, see you tomorrow, Yoshimitsu!"

"Bye, Ryuuji!"

The two saw each other off with a smile as they headed off the shop and went their separate ways. As he was going back home, he kept thinking about everything that happened during the day.

" _Ah, what an eventful day! I realized one thing by facing off with Ryuuji today: I love this game as much as he does! Of course I can't expect to beat Hiniku-san right away when she will challenge me, but I can still hope to give her a good match!_ ".


	4. Chapter 4: Omicron Crucis

Chapter 4: Omicron Crucis

Hiniku Kashikoi was scowling as she made her way through Regent's Park. It was only down the road from their school but all the way there the small girl felt as drained as if she'd been forced to walk to the next city. That's not to say the thin girl was in bad shape, she only found unnecessary socializing with youths her age – or anyone for that matter – to be cumbersome. She didn't like it. Hiniku had already caught the bus home (to pick up her cards) but now she was on her way back. She didn't want to head back, but she'd done so anyway.

The park was an expanse of subtle dips and rises, like a vast green blanket with rolls all the way to the collection of trees in the centre. Sandstone pathways wound through it with wooden benches at regular intervals. Families were having a picnic laid out on blankets (you had to because of all the prickles), they'd claimed the sheltered communal cooking stoves for the afternoon. Elderly strollers and joggers and dog-walkers made their rounds, but it was still fairly vacant, mostly due to its large size.

When Hiniku got closer to the trees in the middle she curved around them and spotted two of her classmates. Tonma's dark brown hair was not shielding her like it usually was – a nervous habit of hers. Instead it was brushed behind her ear, revealing more of her round heart-shaped face. Behind her circular glasses her dark eyes were sparkling and there was a pink flush on both her cheeks. Upon seeing the girl Hiniku's spirits lifted but when she saw the boy she was talking to, Ren, her hackles rose once more. It seemed that steroid-monkey had charmed even the mouse-shy Tonma with his goofy antics. Infuriating!

"I'm here, what do you want?" She interrupted the two of them in a gruff voice.

"Ah!" Ren beamed. "Good, you made it."

"Hello Honey-san!" Tonma greeted in her typical friendly way. "Your elf-ears are as cute as ever!"

"Actually Tonma-san, she prefers-" Before Ren could correct Tonma however, Hiniku fired a well-aimed kick to his shin and he howled, hopping away.

"Goodness!" Tonma exclaimed.

"Sorry, I have knee-jerk problems." Hiniku lied. "And greetings Tonma-san. It's nice to see you."

"Always so formal." The other girl gave an awkward laugh while the scowling Ren massaged his leg.

"Anyway… now that the four of us are here-"

"Four?" At that moment Hiniku noticed Baka fall out of the tree he was hiding in and hit the ground beside her with an _oomph_. She resisted the urge to kick him while the others could see.

"Ouch! I landed in prickles!" Baka complained.

"Walk it off, you Mary-Sue." Hiniku barked at him before looking back at Ren. "So why are we here? I'm not going to stay long."

"Are you busy, Honey-san?" Tonma asked.

"Something like that."

"Well I don't want to keep you long, _Honey-san_." Ren snidely mocked, probably in bitterness from that kick. Hiniku shot him a glare.

"Are we all calling her Honey-san now?" Baka asked from where he was still lying on the ground. Hiniku stepped on his pinkie-finger. "Ouch!"

"Whoops."

"Watch it!" He growled and whined, like a puppy.

"Ren, did you or did you not disclose to me the sighting of a bizarre anomaly?" Hiniku prompted.

"I did." The brown-haired boy nodded. "I saw a gimp in this area."

"You did?" Tonma asked in part excitement and part fear.

"So what?" Baka got up and brushed himself off, there were a few leaves and twigs still stuck in his untidy honey-brown hair. "I see gimps all the time."

"But this one was flying."

"Are you sure?" Hiniku asked while raising an eyebrow.

"Oh definitely. I ran out of the school and followed it with my vision, it went right down into the park, right here where we're standing."

"Okay. How was it flying? Did it have wings or what?"

"No. It was flying like a rocket. Left a line of white like a jet and everything."

"Are you sure it wasn't just a jet?"

"No!" Ren exclaimed. "I'm sure of what I saw!"

"Listen Ren, gimps are supposed to be really stupid. There are all kinds of reports of people in school saying that they see them falling over. Sometimes falling over rocks, cliffs, fences… sometimes just falling over for no apparent reason. Gimps are not very smart. They certainly don't fly."

"Look, I know it sounds crazy. But I'm sure it was a gimp and I'm sure it was flying. I thought, I _need_ to check this out. And then I thought, hey I should invite Hiniku and Tonma! We can make it like a mystery! Doesn't that sound fun?!"

"Yeah…" Tonma shifted back and forth on her feet anxiously "It sounds kind of scary… but also like it could be really exciting!"

"Don't worry, Tonma." Ren gave his stupid-idiot grin. "I'll protect you."

Hiniku felt her face flushing in rage but Baka stepped forward before she did.

"Hey! I'll be the one protecting Tonma from the gimps! That'll be me!"

"But why did you invite Baka?" Hiniku slapped a hand to her face.

"He was already hanging around Tonma when I asked her and she didn't want to be rude." Ren answered, also lamentably.

"Hey!"

"Come on guys, we shouldn't be mean to Baka." Tonma attempted a smile. She was the only truly good-natured one of them all, and even so it was clear the hyperactive idiot had been wearing down her patience. She looked drained by his antics.

"So you want us to stand around here like assholes until the magical flying gimp reappears?" Hiniku asked Ren. "Is that right?"

"Well… we could investigate and look for clues?" He tried.

"Good idea!" Baka immediately fired up. "Me and Tonma will check over there!" He rushed off and snagged her hand, pulling the nervous girl away.

"Wait!" Hiniku called after them before grumbling to herself "Damn, stupid Baka…"

"Okay, so…" Ren approached her. "I have to admit I was using this whole thing as an excuse to hang out. You wouldn't meet with me outside of school otherwise…"

"Jeez." Hiniku turned to smoulder him with an accusing glare. "So that stupid flying gimp story was just a lie? I should've known, it was stupid enough. Why did you have to bring Tonma into this though?"

"Well…" He backed down under her glare. "You always act like you're not into me, Hiniku… but then when I suggest hanging out with another girl you get all angry-jealous, like that rant you gave me at lunch… I'm getting mixed signals here, it's confusing the hell out of me."

"I don't like you, you moron!" She hissed.

"But you came to the park, only because I said I'd be here with Tonma. So I knew I had to invite Tonma, because you'd only come if I said I was going to be here with another girl."

"Trying to talk you out of your neurosis is a waste of my energy." Hiniku snapped before stalking off.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"Out of here!" She shouted over her shoulder. "I'm going home!"

"No, wait!" Ren hurried after her and it only prompted Hiniku to quicken her pace. "Hiniku-san…"

A loud burning engine sound made the two teens stop in their tracks. They looked up and saw a robotic cyborg with a gas mask and fire coming out of both feet as it descended to about ten feet above them. Hiniku gaped at it, slack-jawed. It was indeed a gimp. A flying robot gimp. It was mostly black but with silver mechanical parts infused to its body: a robot arm, feet, and a glowing red eye that seemed to zero in on both of them. This creature was _a lot_ more threatening than your average-Joe gimp. It raised its metal arm to the two motionless teenagers and with a _pop-click_ a small missile was aimed at them.

A fiery-haired girl roared as she soared out of the tree-tops, aiming a kick at the hovering gimp. With swift agility it turned its feet, jettisoning out of the way and then blasting off into the sky, leaving a trail of white smoke behind it. The girl fell into a roll and then got to her feet. A boy came running after her.

"Are you quite alright, Soaku?" He asked.

"Ouch, fuck! Prickles." She dusted off her maroon long-sleeved top. "Yeah, Mazui I'm fine. Back off! I'm fine." She turned around and Hiniku recognized the two of them as students from their school, yet they'd already changed out of their uniform.

The girl, Soaku, had dyed red hair (red-red not orange-red). She also had a mean face, something seemed a bit off about the pallor of her skin. She was wearing a black skirt over ripped fish-net stockings and wedges. The boy, Mazui, had curly brown hair and a thin gangly frame. He was dressed much nicer in a fanciful jacket and dress shirt, long pants, shiny shoes and… a red bow-tie. While he didn't look as mean in the face as the girl he was with, he had the same unhealthy pigment to his skin. In this light it looked like there was a grey tinge to their faces.

"Woah…" Ren recovered faster than Hiniku, who was still open-mouth stunned. "Hey thanks for saving us! Wow, you flew ten feet in the air and did a roll and you're just fine! Are you a ninja girl? I do martial arts too! Hey that's so cool!" He rambled and Hiniku began to feel embarrassed by association, and that was saying something considering she was the one with the elf-ears.

"Hey, random boy," Soaku turned around to face him. "Shut the fuck up." Venom leaked from her. She had the kind of violent temperament of a delinquent. The kind of girl Hiniku usually just avoided.

"Ah… okay." Ren looked disheartened.

"I thought you two would distract Robo-Gimp long enough for me to catch him. Didn't work. Now I have to spend _another_ afternoon tracking him all over again. I probably should've waited for him to kill one of you first, that might've worked." Abruptly Soaku lashed out, kicking a weed. "Fuck! I'm so _pissed off_ right now. Maybe _I_ should kill these guys. Might make me feel better!"

"Now, now Soaku…" The boy beside her reprimanded. "Let's not do anything dreadfully unpleasant. I'm sure we'll get another chance to capture Robo-Gimp."

"Shut the fuck up, Mazui." She sneered and the boy seemed frightened of her, he stopped talking.

"Robo-Gimp?" Hiniku couldn't help from speaking up. "Is that its name?"

"Derr! Obviously!" The angry girl spat.

"What was that thing?"

"Exactly what its name suggests: a robot gimp."

"Are all gimps robots?"

"No. Then Robo-Gimp wouldn't be Robo-Gimp, it would just be a gimp. But it's clearly not."

"Clearly. You both seem to know something about that, er, Robo-Gimp and gimps in general."

"Yes, we do. Obviously. Gimps are the servants of the Omicron Crucis, at least, they're supposed to be…"

"Soaku…" The boy cautioned her nervously. "I don't think we should be telling outsiders that."

"Shut up, Mazui!" She barked again and he backed down.

"So… what is the Omicron Crucis?" Hiniku continued to probe.

"An elite group of duellists. We basically run the underground circuit."

"The underground circuit… as in, illegal tournaments?"

"Yes."

"For card games?"

"Yes. Obviously."

"And so you two would be members of this Omicron Crasis-?"

" _Crucis_. Omicron Crucis. And yes. Obviously."

"Soaku…" The boy warned again, nervously.

"I will kill you, Mazui! I will straight up kill you! Is that what you want? I swear to God I'll kill you!" Once again she succeeded in scaring him and he backed down.

"And you guys," Hiniku continued to ask "You duellists of the Omicron Crucis are responsible for these gimp creatures that have been all over town these past few months?"

"Someone give this girl a metal! Seriously though, you must be dumb as fuck."

"Well if I'm so dumb," She reached into her pocket and plucked out her deck of cards. "You should have no trouble beating me in a duel."

"Woah, Hiniku-san!" Ren turned to face her. "I'm getting a really bad feeling from these guys. I think we should just go."

"Ha! No way!" Soaku revealed a deck of her own. "You two aren't going anywhere! I never back down from a challenge! You're on!"

The two girls were staring each other down as the two boys watched on anxiously.

"If I win, you tell me more about the Omicron Crucis and what it is you guys are planning with all these gimps around town." Hiniku declared.

"Hm." Soaku's tone was non-committal. "When I win, I'm allowed to _kill_ you."

There was no way Hiniku would agree to that. She didn't care about their wacky group _that_ much. So she also made a non-committal sound and that's when she noticed something peculiar.

"Woah… hey Hiniku-san…" Ren started nervously. "Are her cards glowing or is it just me?"

It did indeed look like red and black mist was drifting around her cards. Soaku chuckled darkly. Reaching up she pulled down a sleeve to reveal a strange tattoo on her right forearm. It looked like a complicated Spirograph and it too was glowing.

"This is the symbol of the Omicron Crucis." Mazui tugged down his own sleeve in one swift motion. His symbol wasn't glowing. "It is the order of our leader that any duellist strong enough to beat one of us must be left alone. If you're quite strong enough to stand your ground in a match you might be worth joining our ranks at some other point." He explained sensibly.

Hiniku narrowed her eyes. She always used to look down at people with tattoos, people who'd mark their skin for a fashion trend, she'd decided it wasn't 'her'. Even getting a magical tattoo was off limits, and the way these two kids looked, pale-faced and… corrupted. Hiniku couldn't see herself joining their shady gang any time soon.

Soaku extended her tattooed arm and two stone tabletops appeared between the players in the middle of the park.

"Woah…" Ren gasped. Hiniku blinked.

"So we're not just finding a prickle-free patch of grass then…?"

"Shut up and arrange your cards!" Soaku jeered.

Hiniku turned her deck over. Some of these cards were quite old, full of nostalgic childhood memories. Some of the cards weren't considered useful, but she had the knack for utilizing their obscure effects to her best advantage. Her cards were already sorted. She pulled out her Magic Stone deck and set it down to the left, she set her actual deck to the right and then set her Ruler in the middle. Suddenly a giant card misted into view above Hiniku, she looked up and recognized the J-Ruler side of her card, meaning the Ruler side was in plain view facing Soaku. The red-haired girl looked up and snickered.

"That card's your Ruler? How pathetic."

From the card a human-sized rotund purple cat curled out and sat down. It had a big mischievous human-teeth smile and was wearing a jester outfit and hat, complete with little dangling bells. It was 'Trix, the Jester Cat' a Ruler that wasn't too rare but hardly used due to the fact its random effect made it more of a wild card. Hiniku had always had a soft spot for it though. She generally hated animals, found them dumb and dirty, except for cats. Hiniku didn't gee-gaw at them like other cat enthusiasts, she just had an appreciation for them because they seemed to carry themselves with more respect and dignity than other animals.

"This match will be done in no time at all!" Soaku slapped her own card down and Hiniku looked up as a giant version of her Ruler card came into view above her. 'Ogre King Golem'. Hiniku had never seen that card before. It looked terrifying, a big ugly red-black mutant with curved boar-teeth and a gold crown, wielding an enormous club. Hiniku's purple cat lay on its back and started kicking at the jingling bells on its hat with its hind legs. "I suppose it makes sense your Ruler would be an absolute joke." Soaku mocked. "I mean, look at you. Those dumb fake ears. You look like a clown yourself. Ha!"

"Are you here to laugh or are you here to duel?" Hiniku urged, annoyed.

"Fine! Since I challenged I get to go first!" She started drawing five cards and Hiniku did as well. "Obviously, the first thing I'm going to do is rest Ogre King Golem for a magic stone." She reached down to turn her Ruler and then flipped over the top card of her left deck. A bright red fire stone appeared beside Soaku. It was a long pointed crystal the size of a football, sparkling red. "Your move, loser."

"Hm." Hiniku wasn't going to let herself be intimidated in this game. The schoolyard may have been a different story but now she was in her element. She drew a card and then frowned at her hand. "I rest Trix the Jester Cat for a magic stone." She flipped over a Light Stone and immediately rested it. "I play Little Angel of Armalla!" A card appeared so her opponent could see its power and effects. A cute child with small angel wings and a halo appeared, it had 'Flying' and 300 attack and defence. "Turn end."

"That's the most pathetic Resonator I've ever seen." She drew and then rested her Ruler for another fire stone. "Raging Goblin!" She rested her two stones and a vicious fanged creature with a club of its own crawled ahead of its ruler. Hiniku observed it had 'Bloodlust' as an effect, as well as 500 attack and 200 defence. "Your move."

Hiniku drew a card from her deck. "I'm gonna bring out a Light Stone and then rest it to play a field addition: Heavenly Garden of Armalla! Now all flying monsters I control get an extra 200 attack and defence." A floating island with water running down it appeared behind Hiniku shrouded in mist. She looked back at it. These projections were just that: Illusions. But there was something about them, something Hiniku could sense, that was making her nervous. Not that she was anything but cool and collected on the outside.

"Pffft so what?" Soaku dipped her head, looking smug. "I don't care about your stupid addition. In fact, go ahead and attack me right now. I won't even block."

"Fine!" Hiniku raised her arm over the table and pointed at the other girl. "Go, Little Angel! Attack her!" With a chirp the small winged child reared up and shot toward the other duellist. It ducked and weaved in bursts of speed, withdrawing a little cupid's arrow it fired and Soaku didn't lose her smirk, even as the arrow collided with her table in an explosion of yellow light. Her goblin monster had not blocked, so Soaku hadn't been bluffing like Hiniku thought. Glowing numbers appeared on the stone table and decreased to 3500. Evidently it was Soaku's life points being recorded somehow.

"Wow." Ren stated anxiously. "I don't know how you guys are doing this but it's really… amazing."

"We of the Omicron Crucis have our means." Mazui spoke up smugly from the sidelines.

"Mazui, shut up." The red-haired girl spoke over her shoulder as she drew her next card. "I need to focus."

"But-"

"Can it!" She yelled and he sagged in defeat. Soaku whipped back around to her opponent. "I generate another magic stone. Ooo! A darkness one." She smirked wickedly as the black stone appeared next to her others. A smoky onyx beside two rubies. "Then I'll summon a second Raging Goblin!" Another fiendish creature loomed into play beside its twin. "Go my first Resonator! Attack her!" With an inhuman squeal the creature raised its club and lunged toward Hiniku. Alarmed, the blonde girl stepped back and with a loud crash and blinding red light its attack collided with her table, reducing her display points to 3500 as well. Soaku laughed.

"Tch." Hiniku swiped a card from her deck and generated another light stone. "I summon Wish Fairy!" Another small winged child appeared, this one with butterfly wings. "Little Angel attack!" Her Resonator blurred on speedy feathered wings and fired another arrow that connected to Soaku's table. "Why aren't you blocking?" Hiniku yelled in frustration. Soaku's points reduced to 3000.

"A quick game's a good game." Soaku drew another card and studied her hand with a wicked glint in her eyes. Another darkness stone was plucked from her stack. "Good, now I can summon my Dervish Count." Her first darkness resonator appeared on the field, a black caped undead with aquamarine hair and a skull top-hat. He bowed upon entrance but gave a predatory smile. Hiniku had noticed he had 600 defence and yet zero attack. Something was brewing.

Soaku pointed "I attack with both my Raging Goblins, one after the other, and my target is _you_!"

"I block one with Wish Fairy." Hiniku turned her card and the little critter cried out as she was smashed to pieces like glass. Her attack points were just strong enough to wipe out the enemy goblin too. "Wish Fairy has an activate effect which triggers when she's sent to the graveyard." Hiniku explained. "I get to generate another magic stone."

"Like that will do you much good." Soaku jeered as her second goblin struck Hiniku's cobblestone table with enough force to make the girl gasp. Her points decreased to 3000. So far they were maintaining an even score. "And now…" The red-head grinned as she deliberately turned her new Resonator.

"You just played him!"

"Dervish Count has Swiftness."

"But he has zero attack?"

"He has an ability. While he can't attack you normally, he has the ability to deal you damage when I sacrifice other Resonators. What makes his power so useful is that it can't be blocked in the usual way." Soaku cackled then. "I sacrifice my last Raging Goblin!" The fiend was consumed by a dark mist as the count weaved his arms like he was performing a spell, then he conducted the blackness toward Hiniku's table, decreasing her points further to 2500. "Ha! I'm not all that impressed with your skills so far, loser."

"Well you're about to be." Hiniku drew from her deck and scowled. She needed to figure out a strategy. Wait! Maybe those cards could help? "This next Resonator is a personal favourite of mine, the Somniferous Spell Sage!" A wizened wizard in white appeared clutching a staff and stroking his beard. His attack was too weak to do anything, but like the Dervish Count he also had an effect. It was another random wild-card effect, but with the right strategy Hiniku could always utilize those kind of effects to her advantage. "Then I activate a chant! Akashic Archives! It lets me look at the top five cards of my deck and arrange them in any order."

"Nice one!" Ren called, although Hiniku knew he didn't know how to play Force of Will and likely had no idea what was going on.

"That's not so great." Soaku leered. "Are you done?"

"Yes…" Hiniku didn't want to attack with her Little Angel, she needed it to protect her life points.

"Go Thunder! Destroy Little Angel!" Red lightning crackled across the field, rising goose-bumps all over Hiniku's skin. Her creature squealed and exploded. So much for that. She moved it to her graveyard. Soaku slammed down another card. "I summon Wolf of Redwood!" A dusty-coloured canine appeared barring its fangs. It was a weak card, but obviously Soaku didn't plan to leave it around anyway. "I sacrifice it so Dervish Count can wipe out more of your points!"

The beast's howl was consumed by the darkness and then rocketed toward Hiniku again. She grimaced as her points went down to 2000. She was a thousand points behind her opponent now. Drawing from her deck she routinely added a Light Stone before beginning.

"I play the Maiden Seamstress!" A robed woman in purple wielding two knitting needles as weapons appeared. While not very powerful she had a turn effect that could enable Hiniku to draw extra cards.

"Is that all?" Soaku demanded as Hiniku studied the field.

"Not by a long shot. I rest my remaining magic stones and Somniferous Spell Sage to use his effect!"

"What's his effect?" Soaku snapped.

"The first part of it requires me to pick a resonator in play, any resonator. I choose your Dervish Count."

"And then?"

"And then it's all up to chance." Hiniku dipped her chin. "The selected resonator goes to the bottom of its owner's deck. Then cards are revealed from the deck until a new resonator is drawn. That resonator is then played in place of the one that was banished away. All other revealed cards go back to the deck and get shuffled in."

"So what you're saying is…" Soaku blinked. "You're swapping my Resonator with another one of my Resonators… and the new one is completely up to luck… plus it comes out with no cost to me?"

"It also gains Swiftness." Hiniku added.

"Ha! Let's do it!"

The wizard twirled his staff before firing a bolt of light at the sneering count. He was blasted straight back into Soaku's deck. The girl started revealing cards. A chant, a regalia, and then… Soaku frowned "Wolf of Redwood…" Another canine appeared and snarled ferociously. Soaku barred her teeth in displeasure while Hiniku inwardly sighed with relief. That gamble didn't always pay off, but she was glad it did.

Soaku drew a card and then her eyes twinkled.

"I rest magic stones, and it looks like my new wolf is _also_ getting sacrificed… to bring out a far more powerful creature… Barbaric Cyclops Fiend!" A mighty fire behemoth appeared, towering over the entire field with one thousand attack power. _Dammit_. Soaku roared again with laughter. "You'll never beat him! Make your pathetic move already!"

"Don't be so sure." Hiniku drew from her deck and smiled. It was time for her strategy to get underway. This would be her big move, executed in three parts. First of all, the gamble. "I rest two magic stones to use my Ruler's effect!" Hiniku's purple cat uncurled from the ball it was resting in and stretched its legs. "One card on the field will be destroyed completely at random!" Hiniku announced and the other girl scowled. "Go!" Trix the Jester Cat glowed bright yellow before everything on the field started blinking with light in turn, a form of glowing roulette. The light slowed down on Hiniku's field and then one of her magic stones blew up.

"Well…" She looked at her cat as it started swiping at the bells on its hat. That didn't work, but oh well. Soaku just gave her opponent a bored stare, her neck tilted. Part two now. "I cast the chant Light Sword Spell!"

"Then I cast the instant chant Chaos Seal!" Soaku interrupted, revealing a card from her hand.

"Then I block it with an instant chant of my own. Vigilance Armour!"

"Then I rest two fire stones for my own Ruler's effect. Ogre King Golem can destroy any non-Resonator or non-J-Ruler card in play!"

"Well…" Dammit. Hiniku put her two chants into her graveyard. That hadn't worked either.

"You done yet?" Soaku chided.

"Not yet. I still got one more move to play. I use my remaining Light Stones for Somniferous Spell Sage's effect!"

"You're going to eject my Barbaric Cyclops Fiend from the game? Coward."

"Not quite. Somniferous Spell Sage is using his effect on himself!"

"What?" Soaku blinked. "You really are an idiot. Do you really think you'll be lucky enough to draw a Resonator strong enough to contend with mine? Wait a second…" The red-head's face became horror.

"So you realised it too huh?" Hiniku smirked confidently. "I rearranged the cards on top of my deck with my Akashic Archives chant a few turns back. So I know exactly what Resonator I'm going to draw next." Hiniku plucked a card from her deck and held it out without even looking. "Destiny Sun Seraphim!" A glorious angel being with six feathered wings unfurled them to reveal its glowing visage. Its attack was also one thousand, but due to the Heavenly Garden of Armalla which was still in play, the flying creature was now on 1200. "Stronger than your Cyclops."

Dramatically the small girl pointed across the playing field "And if you recall it also gains Swiftness! Go, attack now!"

A ball of pure white energy was fired from the benevolent angel like a cannon. Soaku's life points decreased all the way down to 1800.

"That was a good move. Fine, I'll admit it." Soaku drew from her deck as the smoke cleared. Her monstrous resonator tried shielding its lone eye from the blinding gold light of the new enemy. "But it's still not enough to win this game. I summon another Raging Goblin. And now, Barbaric Cyclops attack!"

"Idiot!" Hiniku yelled as the monster charged. "Did you forget about my Heavenly Garden card? I move to block!"

"I use my Ruler's effect to destroy your Garden!" Soaku yelled with a crazed expression. "Now we've evenly matched!"

The two beings collided in a burst of fire and light, the two girls tensing up as a blast wave of air and sound shook the very ground beneath their feet. Hiniku lowered her arms after shielding her face and noticed her mighty creature was gone.

"Dammit…"

"Pretty slick combo. With that Akashic Archives card and your Spell Sage you can essentially summon your strongest Resonator even if you don't have many magic stones. But it wasn't a good enough trick to beat me."

"I play two Little Angels of Armalla and attack you with Maiden Seamstress!" Hiniku's maiden flew at the other girl and wasn't blocked by her goblin. Soaku remained smug as her life points went down to 1500.

"Right, well, it's about time I bring out the big guns." Soaku brought her hand down on her card. "I perform Judgement to transform Ogre King Golem into a J-Ruler!"

"Dammit…"

"Come on out! Grotesque Monstrosity Lord!" Soaku's mighty ruler stepped forward and morphed, getting bigger and burlier, greater in size even than Barbaric Cyclops Fiend had been. Soaku's cackles raised in pitch, the girl seemed quite insane. "His effect is just like Dervish Count, you shit-head loser! All I need to do is sacrifice a resonator and a magic stone, you can't even block it!" One of her floating rubies shattered and so did the Raging Goblin which looked comically small beside her J-Ruler anyway. The monster slammed its spiky mallet down with enough force to make Hiniku fall back onto her ass. Her points went down to 1500 as well. They were still even.

"How am I supposed to win this…?" The giant had 1300 attack points!

"You're not! The Omicron Crucis are unbeatable! Hahaha!"

"Well what a coincidence…" Hiniku got back to her feet and adjusted a wonky elf-ear. "I'm unbeatable too." She enjoyed watching the confidence on Soaku's face waver as she drew her next card. "I play Divine Queen, Ruler of Heaven!" Another radiant being appeared, her halo encompassing her entire body. "By removing one other angel resonator from my side of the field she gains Swiftness! I also attach to her the armour addition Silver Star Bow! It can only be used on strong enough resonators." Hiniku clenched her fists. "Attack!"

"You're not beating me!" Soaku shrieked, enraged. "Grotesque Monstrosity Lord! Block!"

"My monster may not have Flying." Hiniku admitted as the two mighty creatures clashed. "But thanks to Silver Star Bow she has Piercing instead!"

Both creatures exploded once again and Soaku tensed as her life points decreased down to 600. Piercing was always the way to go against players who valued attack as so much more important than defence, in Hiniku's opinion anyway. "Maiden Seamstress attack!" Another 300 point loss.

"No wait!"

"Little Angel of Armalla! Finish the duel!" The perky chirping angel soared down, firing a heart-shaped arrow at the astonished red-head. There was an explosion of yellow light and then the tables and creatures all vanished.

Soaku remained standing, frozen, her defeat not even registering.

"Woah…" the suited Mazui began. "Soaku… lost?"


	5. Chapter 5: Training

Chapter 5: Training

The following day…

Yoshimitsu went to school as usual, and everything seemed fine… Except for Hiniku.

" _She seems_ _more unfocused_ _than usual…_ _And tense…_ _What's on her mind?_ " he thought. Little did he know about what she had to face the day before

" _The Omicron Crucis… Those guys may be weirdo, but they seem ominous… And the underground… What's going on?_ "

At lunch time, Yoshimitsu headed to the cafeteria as usual, accompanied by Zappa, but, as he reached the table, a girl with long black hair and brown eyes approached them.

"Oh, hello Yoshimitsu-kun!" she greeted him with a smile.

"H-Hi, Mizuki-san..." he blushed a little, out of embarassment and shyness.

"Hey, Mizuki-san!" said Zappa, trying to look cheerful and pumped up.

"So, mind if I sit here?" asked Mizuki, with her politeness and gentleness that unwillingly stole the hearts of many young men in the school.

"Of course not!" the fair-head answered, still flushed.

"If I may ask, why isn't your brother with you?" inquired Zappa out of curiosity. Mizuki's brother was well known to Zappa and Yoshimitsu, and among Force of Will players in general: he was none other than Kaito Takahashi, the national champion of the card game. Also, he was their senpai at school.

"Oh, he is by himself, training with cards..." said Mizuki.

"Ah, the day will come when I, Zappa Kurosawa, will be able to face him as an equal!" the spiky-head's eyes shone dreamily.

"Well, that would be the dream of any Force of Will player…" said Yoshimitsu, slightly embarassed by his friend's antics.

"Yoshimitsu-kun..." Mizuki's expression became serious "Have you heard about the latest news on gimps?"

"Yes." answered Yoshimitsu, his expression as worried as hers "There have been reports about a heavily armed jet-robot gimp around Chiba. It has also appeared in Regent's Park the other day..."

"From what I've heard some students were at the scene…" continued Mizuki "Among those were Kashikoi-san, Zonzai-san and Ijirashi-kun..."

"Hiniku-san?!" exclaimed Yoshimitsu out of surprise.

"The delinquents?" exclaimed his classmate at the same time, snapping out of his dreamy state. "What were they doing there?".

In fact Soaku Zonzai and Mazui Ijirashi didn't have a very good reputation. Soaku, in particular, was one of the most feared girls in the school…

"No one knows..." said Mizuki. "Thankfully it seems that everyone involved with that incident is fine." she let out a sigh of relief.

"Now this is becoming a little shady..." said Zappa

"Like it wasn't just yesterday or the day before, too..." commented Yoshimitsu.

"Anyway." Zappa purposely changed topic. "Do you know that this guy right here has begun playing your brother's game?" he said as he took hold of his friend and showed him to the girl, while the fair-haired boy had on his face a look both embarassed and questioning.

"Really?" said Mizuki, overjoyed. "That's great! I'm looking forward to see him in action, then!"

"T-Thanks" said Yoshimitsu, his face as red as a tomato.

"I play too, you know?" continued Mizuki while moving a strand of her hair behind her ear "I'd love to have a duel with you soon! You shouldn't underestimate me, though..." Yoshimitsu could clearly see the best intent in the girl's eyes, unlike Hiniku.

"Where do you play?" asked the girl.

"Yellow Submarine. You get there by monorail."

"Oh, that place! My brother goes there from time to time."

"Seriously?" both the boys exclaimed.

"Well, of course we can't go to the shop expecting to find him there..." commented Yoshimitsu.

They ate together and then the lessons continued.

After school Ryuuji reached Yoshimitsu in order to remind him of something

"Hey Yoshimitsu! Remember to come to the store today, my team of duelists is coming for a meeting, I just have to introduce you to them! Also, bring some money to buy at least two booster packs."

"Understood" said the fair-haired boy, nodding in agreement. As he got out of the school he looked around, searching for Hiniku, but she was nowhere to be found. Little did he know that she had decided to go to the Yellow Submarine as well, in order to meet these duelists.

At home, Yoshimitsu got a surprise.

"Welcome back! There's someone waiting for you inside!" said his mother as she let him in. The boy's father had just come back from one of his long trips.

"Dad!" exclaimed Yoshimitsu happily.

"Hey!" the man said "How's my son?"

"I'm all right!" answered the fair-haired boy.

"Do you know that your son has made use of your present?" the historian was told by his wife.

"Really? How did your first duel go?"

"Well, I lost, but I was still overjoyed that I got to play for the first time!"

"Great! Keep that feeling up!"

That afternoon, Yoshimitsu went to the Yellow Submarine again, as agreed at school. He found Ryuuji and two other players, a girl with long straight black hair and blue eyes and a boy with short brown hair and green eyes behind a pair of glasses, waiting for him.

"Hey there, Yoshimitsu!" Ryuuji greeted his friend. "Let me introduce you to my teammates!". Then, with his friend beside him, the red-head said to his friends "Guys, here's Yoshimitsu Hayashi, the Yellow Submarine's newest sailor!"

"N-Nice to meet you..." Yoshimitsu was doing his best to hide the embarassment he was dying from, and bowed respectfully to the two, who, in turn, presented themselves

"My name is Nagisa Mizushima." said the girl, with a slightly cold tone "Welcome aboard."

"My name is Daisuke Hashimoto." said the boy, who seemed a bit shy. "Nice to meet you."

"We are the Sephiroth Tetragram!" exclaimed Ryuuji, proudly. "We are a team getting ready for official competitions!"

Yoshimitsu's face had an expression of astonishment on it. Ryuuji continued on.

"We also have nicknames, taken from names of powerful beasts from a manga, which also describe the attribute of our decks. For example, I am Rayearth, the Dragon, and, as you have already seen from our duel yesterday, I play a Fire and Light deck. Nagisa is Celestia, the Sea Wyvern, and Daisuke is Windam, the Griffin. Have a wild guess about which attributes they base their decks on." It was obvious, indeed, that Nagisa played Water cards and Daisuke played Wind cards.

" _Amazing! This really looks like a professional team!_ " thought Yoshimitsu " _I could definitely see these guys in an official circuit!_ "

"Well then" said Ryuuji "Now that presentations are done, I told you that I would tell you a thing or two about deck building, now that you know the bases of the game, so let's begin right away!"

Yoshimitsu nodded in agreement.

Firstly, the boy bought two booster packs as advised from Ryuuji earlier on, and found some good cards, including two copies of a Special Magic Stone that he had never seen before.

"Stone of Gusting Skies? This is new… But it will definitely be useful!

"Now it's time to pimp your deck!" said Ryuuji enthusiastically "First thing to do, check! You should know that your Main Deck must contain at least 40 cards, and you must have from 10 to 20 Magic Stones."

Yoshimitsu checked his deck and, guided by the three more expert duelists, made the right adjustments. He had just finished and was more than ready to test it out when someone busted in from the door. It was Zappa.

"Ryuuji Yamazaki! I, Zappa Kurosawa, am here today to have my rematch against you!"

"Well, if it isn't you!" said the red-head smiling "If you really think that you're worthy of having a rematch, you should show it to me in a duel with your friend."

"R-Ryuuji!" Yoshimitsu, of course, was taken aback by the statement.

"Stay calm!" said Ryuuji "It's important for you to keep your focus. There was no better moment for spiky-head to join in! Now you have the chance to test your modified deck!"

Hearing these words, Yoshimitsu smiled and nodded. Then, he and Zappa sit at a table and, after shuffling their decks, began playing.

Zappa had a ruler that the fair-haired boy had never seen before.

"Pandora, Girl of the Box? That card seems to have a high cost

In fact, its Judgement cost was 5 wills, of which 1 Dark and 1 Light.

"What?" The spiky-head had a similar reaction in seeing Yoshimitsu's Ruler "9 wills for Judgement?"

"Yes" said Yoshimitsu, calmly "But it lessens for every Musketeer I control."

"Hmm. This duel will be interesting!" Zappa was getting pumped up "Sorry, pal, but I have to beat you, so that I can get to Yamazaki! Prepare for doom!"

They agreed that Yoshimitsu would start the duel, and so, after both of them drew 5 cards…

"I rest my Ruler to gain a Stone!" It was a simple Wind Stone, but he used it right away.

"I play Elvish Priest, and with that I'll end my turn."

"It won't do you much good..." commented the spiky-head as he drew his card and rested his Ruler, gaining a Light stone. "I play Clothes Tailor!" he said as he slammed on the table a card bearing the image of an old man with woolen balls. It had 300 Attack and Defense. "Your move, bro!"

Yoshimitsu drew his card and, after recovering all his rested cards, he rested Puss in Boots once more, gaining a Light Stone. He knew exactly what to do with them.

"I rest 1 Light Stone and 1 Wind Stone to summon Aesop, the Prince's Tutor!" It was a Light Resonator with 500 Attack and Defense, resembling an old man in fancy clothes, wearing a monocle. It was also one of the cards that Yoshimitsu had just added in his deck.

"I'm not through yet! Before ending my turn, I rest my Elvish Priest in order to gain the will I need to summon another Elvish Priest to the field!"

After that, he ended his turn.

" _I know what you're trying to do, Yoshi!_ " thought Zappa as he drew his card and recovered all his cards " _With those Elvish Priests, you're trying to have a lot of will, even though you don't have many Stones! Also, since you've summoned Aesop, you must have Fairy Tales in your deck..._ "

In fact, Aesop had an effect which gave to all the Fairy tale monsters on Yoshimitsu's field a keyword ability, Barrier, which shielded them from any magic or effect controlled by the opponent as long as the old man was in the field.

Zappa proceeded to rest his Ruler, gaining a Special Stone, one that could produce Light and Dark will.

"I gain a Stone of Heaven's Rift, and I will use it to play a Dark Resonator! Cinderella, the Ashen Maiden!"

It was a princess dressed in black, with 400 Attack and Defense points, and two fearsome abilities: Firstly, every time she could land a hit on Yoshimitsu, she allowed Zappa the chance to search for a Prince Resonator from his deck and add it to his hand. Secondly, she could inflict 200 damage to all of the opponent's monsters by banishing to the Graveyard one of Zappa's other monsters.

" _I can't use her effect right now..._ " thought the spiky-haired boy " _She doesn't have Swiftness, and 200 would not be enough to destroy his Priests or his Aesop, I'll have to wait for my next turn, and hopefully I'll be able to summon another monster. If not, I will still be able to attack with Cinderella._ " With this strategy in mind, he gave the turn to his friend, who drew his card and recovered all his Stones and his two Priests.

When he got his new Stone, Yoshimitsu's eyes shone of joy. "I just got a Stone of Gusting Skies!"

"What?" exclaimed Zappa, caught by surprise from his friend's card. One of the newest cards around, and another new entry in Yoshimitsu's deck, it could produce both Light and Wind will.

"Now, I rest this new Stone and my Wind Stone to play Porthos, of the Three Musketeers!" It had 700 Attack and 400 Defense coupled with Pierce, and could very well become a rather nasty threat for Zappa later on. But that was not all. He had a plan of action ready when he passed the turn to his opponent.

"I draw and recover!" said Zappa, and then he rested his Ruler to gain another Light stone. He was ready to play his next card, when…

"I rest my two Elvish Priests to play Law of Silence!" said Yoshimitsu "You won't be able to play any cards this turn!". Zappa could only use the monsters he already had on the field.

"Your new friend is doing pretty well for a newbie, Ryuuji!" commented Nagisa as she watched the duel along with her teammates.

"You're damn right! I have high hopes for that guy!" answered the red-head. He was clearly getting excited from seeing the two boys duking it out on the table.

"You're right!" admitted Zappa, not without a glimmer of hope in his eyes "But I can still do this! I use Cinderella's effect to banish my Tailor and inflict 200 points of damage to all your monsters! Then, since I can also attack with her, I attack one of your rested Elvish Priests!" The Wind will producer couldn't stand a chance against the black princess' attack even at full Defense, even less with its Defense lowered of 200, so it went down easily. Fortunately, Yoshimitsu had a combo to pull off, and could do it even without the Priest's help by that time, so, when Zappa passed the turn to him, he was more than ready. After drawing his card and recovering, he didn't rest his Ruler to get a Stone. Instead, of his three stones, he rested his Wind Stone and his Gusting Skies.

"I play Aramis of the Three Musketeers!" It's effect produced Wind will for every Musketeer monster on the Field upon being played. That meant two wills, with Porthos already on the field. He then proceeded to rest his Light Stone, with the intent of playing his most powerful Resonator.

"I summon Athos of the Three Musketeers and equip him with a Musketeer's Bayonet from my deck!". Zappa gulped seeing that he had managed to assemble the trademark trio of his deck, but he wasn't done yet.

"Since I have all of the Three Musketeers on my side of the Field, I pay no will at all to perform Judgement!" proclaimed Yoshimitsu, proudly, as he flipped his Ruler card, revealing its J-Ruler side. "All for one and one for all! Enter the fray, D'Artagnan the Bayoneteer!"

Zappa gasped at the sight of the young musketeer apprentice, knowing exactly what he was up against: D'Artagnan, in fact, had 1000 Attack and 800 Defense Points, Precision, which allowed it to target even recovered Resonators, Pierce and the ability to buff all his Musketeers of 400 Attack and Defense Points, meaning that he also had on his Field a Porthos with 1100 Attack and 800 Defense, an Aramis with 900 Attack and Defense, and an Athos with 1600 Attack and 1200 Defense. He had several powerhouses on his Field, that Zappa had to take care of quickly.

" _In the state I'm in right now, I can only defend myself_ " the spiky-head thought as Yoshimitsu ended his turn without attacking and as he drew his card and recovered. He gained another Heaven's Rift by resting Pandora and rested his 4 wills to play a second Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, a card with 0 Attack, but 700 Defense, conceived for defense and support, because of its rest ability, which buffed all other Resonators controlled by its player. He then ended his turn, awaiting for the hammer to strike and hoping to survive the blast.

"I draw and recover" said Yoshimitsu, then he didn't rest his J-Ruler to gain another Stone. Instead, he sweeped in.

"Firstly, I attack one of your Cinderellas with D'Artagnan!" Zappa guarded with his Sleeping Beauty, which went down, managing to save his card from destruction.

"Then I attack you directly with Aramis!" Zappa guarded with his Cinderella, saving his Life Points.

"Next one to attack will be Porthos!" Zappa didn't guard and his Life Points went down to 2900

"Lastly, Athos will close the combo!" Zappa guarded with his last Cinderella, and his Life Points went down to 1700. After clearing his opponent's field, Yoshimitsu ended his turn. He had no Laws of Silence in his hand, so he couldn't stop Zappa from summoning new defenders.

The spiky-head tried to make the most of his turn. After drawing his card and recovering, he rested Pandora, gaining a Dark Stone, and proceeded to arrange some defenses, resting all of his Stones.

"I summon Sleeping Beauty, Juliet, the Hope, and Romeo, the Despair!" As long as Romeo was in the Field, Juliet couldn't be destroyed, and every Nightmare Resonator on Zappa's Field became a Fairy Tale Resonator. He then ended his turn.

" _I must survive!_ " he thought " _If I manage to survive Yoshi's turn, I can use Pandora's Judgement, transforming her into Pandora of Light, and clear both our fields, buying me some time to turn the tables..._ "

"I draw and recover!" said Yoshimitsu as he prepared himself to finish his opponent off.

"I attack with D'Artagnan!" but the spiky-head guarded with Sleeping Beauty, and his Life Points went down to 1400.

Yoshimitsu continued with Athos, but Zappa guarded with Juliet. She wasn't destroyed thanks to Romeo's presence, but his Life Points went down to 400. It was more than enough to make Zappa realize the inevitability of his defeat.

"I then attack with Porthos!" Zappa didn't guard, knowing that it would have been pointless, and so Yoshimitsu won the duel.

"Whoa!" exclaimed the spiky-haired boy, taken aback by his friend's performance "You sure learnt a lot with Yamazaki! I'm glad to see that!" Then, he hung his head in shame "It appears I am still not good enough to face you, red-head..." only to rise it back up "But the day I will crush you will come!"

"Ooooh, I'm looking forward to it!" said Ryuuji, with a grin, then he proceeded to congratulate the fair-haired winner with everyone else.

"Congratulations, Yoshimitsu!" said Daisuke, with a big smile on his face and a light in his eyes.

"That was an awesome duel!" said Ryuuji, happily "See, I told you that you would score a win sooner or later!"

"T-Thanks, everyone!" answered Yoshimitsu, with a shy smile, his face as red as a cherry.

Then someone else busted in the shop from the door. Yoshimitsu recognized her immediately

"Hiniku-san! What are you doing here?"

"I have something to tell you all..." said Hiniku, her expression gravely serious "It's really important."


	6. Chapter 6: Team Rivalry

Chapter 6: Team Rivalry

The five teenagers stared at Hiniku Kashikoi as she faced them looking utterly serious. Even with her fake elven ears she was still grave enough that they regarded her with wary curiosity. A few other spectators of the Yellow Submarine card shop were also facing their way, clearly a duel had just been played. The fair-haired Yoshimitsu stood blinking at her from one end of a blue table, his cards still set out before him.

"Hiniku-san… what is it?"

She looked aside, tried to make her eyes go glassy. Her lip trembled, then she turned her head and turned it back.

"I see dead people."

"What?" Ryuuji, the spikey red-haired new kid from school sounded appalled. "Is that a movie reference?" Everyone else deflated in annoyance.

"Yes, how clever of you to notice, Ryuuji-san."

"Hiniku-san…" Yoshimitsu began. "I thought you were going to tell me something really serious."

"Well you thought wrong. What I do see in front of me, in fact, is a bunch of noobs at playing card games."

"Okay who exactly is this girl?" A blue-eyed girl with long black hair started, looking like she wasn't too impressed with the newcomer.

"How terribly rude of me! What utter impropriety! Mademoiselle!" Hiniku jumped forward and went to take the girl's hand but she stepped back, away from Hiniku. Instead the small girl settled on giving a respectful bow. "My name is Hiniku Kashikoi, fair maiden. Pardon my inexcusable lack of manners." She kept her head bowed for a good five seconds before raising it.

"What the hell?" The blue-eyed girl was completely flabbergasted. Everyone turned to look at Yoshimitsu for an explanation, except Zappa, he started packing away his cards.

"Hiniku-san!" Yoshimitsu was blushing. "You are kind of embarrassing me in front of my new friends." He looked at the others. "I'm sorry. She can be weird and a bit rude but she's just a harmless nerd… really."

"So I've deduced this table here, and how quickly Zappa seems to be packing away his deck, and it looks like Yoshimitsu won. Didn't he?"

"Next time I'll beat him for sure! I, Zappa Kurosawa, will rise victorious from the ashes!" He raised his fist with determination.

"Well I, Hiniku Kashikoi, think that you, Zappa Kurosawa, are a dumb-ass. In fact, he, Yoshimitsu Hayashi, couldn't hope to beat anyone else in the school I bet."

"Hey girl," Ryuuji started with a frown. "Yoshimitsu has a lot of potential. Don't diss him. Or one day soon you might be eating your words."

"One day…" Hiniku alluded with a smile. Zappa was frowning at her, sad he was made fun of. Yoshimitsu was still flushed with embarrassment. Ryuuji was scowling, but not as hard as the blue-eyed girl. The quiet brown-haired boy with green eyes a few shades different to Yoshimitsu was just gazing at her in surprise that anyone could be so openly bizarre with people they'd just met. Clearly most of them thought she was a crack-pot.

"You sure like acting high and mighty while you tease other players," The blue-eyed girl began. "But are you actually that good?"

"Why my lady…" Hiniku replied with mock-surprise before a dark eagerness overtook her. "I'm better than just good."

"Then why don't you prove it?" She declared. "That's obviously what you came here for, right? To duel?"

"Wow, a girl fight." Zappa could be heard whispering into Yoshimitsu's ear.

"Hiniku-san…" The fair-haired boy sighed again while the three strangers now had their arms crossed. "These guys are professionals at this game. The Sephiroth Tetragram. You shouldn't talk down to them like that."

"Oh…" Hiniku blinked. She had heard of them. They were pretty good. Maybe they might put up a decent fight, she gave them another wide grin and turned back to the girl. "So you must be…?"

"Nagisa Mizushima." She answered tartly.

"But your duel name is Celestia. The beautiful Sea Wyvern who plays with water and light cards? I have heard of you."

"And I'm Ryuuji Yamazaki, but go by Rayearth in official comps."

"Yes, I should've recognized your name in class today. You're pretty good. And that other guy… Windle-"

"Windam." He answered, and didn't seem sure as to how he should consider Hiniku. "Daisuke Hashimoto."

"Well I must say it's such a nice surprise to meet all of you. Maybe you're right, Ryuuji. Maybe Yoshimitsu will advance from a fledgling piglet from the help of your team."

"I wouldn't say we're close enough for you to omit the honorifics." Ryuuji said with a firm stance.

"I'm tired of these antics." Nagisa declared. "This girl's just walked in here acting tough. You have to prove it now. Got to duel someone. It might as well be me."

"As much as I would love to humour you, Miss Celestia, I've come here on the look-out for some particular people who play Force of Will. Logically I thought they'd be here, but since they're not I will interject something with Yoshimitsu and then go."

"Sounds a little cowardly after all that tough talk." Nagisa replied. "I don't care who gets to duel you, I just want to see how well you fair against one of the Sephiroth Tetragram."

"Shall we pencil it in for another time and call it a date?" Hiniku suggested innocently before hearing someone walking inside and calling her name. "Dammit…"

"Hey, ah Hiniku-san." Renbo Aichaku approached the group of teens. "Woah, oh hey. Yoshimitsu-kun and Zappa-kun. And ah, you're the new guy right?" He asked and Ryuuji gave a nod, still frowning at Hiniku like the others were doing.

"I told you to wait outside." Hiniku hissed at him.

"That was like five minutes ago… Hey guys, how's it hanging?" He offered his knuckles to Zappa and they did a bro-fist. Guess they both must play the same video games or something. Ren tended to know a lot of kids at their school. Hiniku scowled.

"Yoshimitsu…" She began and he looked at her. "I've been conducting an investigation on a group of Force of Will players who call themselves the Omicron Crucis. They seem to have strange powers and they're responsible for these black gimp creatures that have been showing up around town these last few months. I was just warning you to be careful because I think they're very dangerous."

"Really…?" He blinked at her.

"The Omicron Crucis?" Ryuuji repeated, and suddenly the three Sephiroth Tetragram all had blank expressions.

"You've heard of them?" Hiniku asked him. "I'd expect so."

"Yes. They're also a four-person squad, just like ours. They've been in local tournaments for years, also just like us, but they would always cheat their way to victory. A year or so back they suddenly dropped out and started playing in the underground, illegal duelling circuit, where the games aren't officially regulated and where people gamble. These are rumours, but there are also rumours that they don't cheat anymore but have strange powers and were hired by some mysterious new boss."

"This mysterious boss is probably the one creating all those gimps…" Hiniku mused and watched Nagisa and Daisuke as they gave each other a meaningful glance. "Well whatever." Hiniku turned to go. "I came in here thinking I could get more info on them. Then when I saw you, Yoshimitsu, I supposed that I cared enough – barely – to at least warn you to stay away from freaks with weird magical tattoos on their arms." She went to leave.

"Wait!" Ryuuji called and Hiniku stopped with a frown. "The Omicron Crucis are supposed to be dangerous. Leave that to us. We'll be able to stop them."

"I can take care of myself."

"You're one girl. Their team needs to be taken down by our team. Just like in the good old days. Doesn't matter how much they cheated back then, we were still always able to beat them. Only now rumour is they've got stronger – _a lot_ stronger."

"Well I went up against Soaku just fine."

"Soaku…" Ryuuji blinked. His eyes glazed over as if he was being distracted by a memory.

"Ren, I'm leaving. Or you can stay here. Actually-"

An explosion blew over a card table and chunks of wall and debris went flying across the room. Duellists cried out and scrambled, dust and plaster smoked over the hole before it faded, showing the outside. Hiniku felt her ears ringing as she spun around to gape at it like everyone else. Sunlight poured through the whole and she took a few tentative steps forward as if to investigate. Ryuuji darted past her then and the other two Sephiroth Tetragram hurried after him as well. Frowning Hiniku followed and her school-mates moved behind her as well.

"What is that?" Daisuke muttered and Hiniku couldn't see through them because she was too small. Frustrated she shoved them aside and turned her gaze to the sky. There she spotted Robo-Gimp who was so far up she could only just make him out, the fire beneath his metal feet allowing him to hover.

"Robo-gimp blew a hole in the Yellow Submarine with a missile…?" She realised out loud. Then she lowered her head and there stood two people on the pavement staring up at the robot. One of them was Mazui, the dorky suited guy with the red bow-tie who was a member of the Omicron Crucis. Hiniku expected the other girl to be the fiery Soaku, but instead it was a dark-haired Asian girl who also came from their school. An upperclassman. Hiniku tried to remember the girl's name.

"Unzari Taidana!" Ryuuji shouted as he approached the two furiously. "And Mazui Ijirashi! It's been a long time since you snakes have slithered down here."

"Ahhh." The Asian girl turned to him. "Ryuuji Yamazaki. Yawn. How boringly unsurprising that I would find you and your gang here. Funny you should use that snake analogy though, I actually go by 'Viper' now."

"Viper?"

"Yes. Didn't you and your friends also go by silly role-playing names? What was yours again? Rayearth?" The girl had a lazy drawl to her. She looked like someone who was perpetually bored. Hiniku and the others followed Ryuuji out. Her grey eyes zeroed in on the older girl's arm and sure enough visible was one of those weird Spirograph tattoos. She was dressed all in black like a Goth and had dark eye-liner.

"I'm flattered you remember." Ryuuji said with a hard smile. "It has been a year after all."

"Yes it has."

"Hmm yes Rayearth." Mazui began in his pompous way. "How _do_ you do? And, my stars, if it isn't Honey-san as well-"

"Mazui." Unzari or Viper or whatever-her-name interrupted him. "Stop talking."

"B-but…" He frowned, sagged and went quiet. At that moment there was a loud sky-rip sound and everyone looked up to see Robo-gimp shoot away, leaving a trail of white jet exhaust behind him.

"Dammit…" Viper muttered. "He got away again."

"Fiddlesticks." Mazui cursed.

"You two both just damaged private property!" Nagisa scowled. "You could've killed somebody!"

"I don't care." Viper responded, and due to her completely bored tone Hiniku immediately believed her.

"Well you should care!" Nagisa continued. "Because if someone hasn't already, we're going to call the police on you for endangering innocent lives!"

"We will be gone before the police get here." Viper insisted without any concern.

"You're not going anywhere!" Daisuke retorted with a deep frown. He didn't seem like the kind of guy who was used to acting tough, not like Ryuuji.

"You can't stop us."

"Why not?" Ryuuji glared. "There's a lot more of us than there are of you. You guys and your group are a danger to the public. I know you've been scheming. We're taking you in."

Viper just stared and then she smiled. Lifting her arm above her head she snapped her fingers and Hiniku heard a heavy _thud_ and then another, and then another, and then she realised they were footsteps. A black gas mask appeared over the top of the nearby seven-foot-tall brick wall. The figure thudded along on his heavy foot-falls until he entered view and turned around to face them.

An enormous brute of white muscle stood before them, monstrously tall and with green veins criss-crossing on his freaky mutated body. He work black pants, heavy metal boots and the black wheezing gas mask of all gimps. Everyone stopped and stared up at him fearfully.

"What the fuck…?" Hiniku mumbled.

"You've met Robo-gimp." Viper started brightly. "So say hello to Hulk-gimp."

"How many different gimps do you guys have?" Hiniku blurted.

"Just three. For now. The old lady is working on a fourth, so I've heard."

"The old lady?"

"Unzari…" Mazui started nervously. "I don't think we should tell outsiders about that-"

"How many times have I told you I go by 'Viper' now? Got it? Sheesh, no wonder Soaku is always threatening to kill you."

"I got the impression Soaku threatened to kill everyone she met." Hiniku spoke up.

"Yeah, pretty much." Viper couldn't help but agree.

"Still…" Mazui pressed his point nervously, fiddling with his ridiculous bow-tie. "I don't think we should-"

"Shut up, Mazui." This time it was Ryuuji who said it. Mazui scowled but then fell quiet once again.

Hulk-gimp's footsteps started up again, they all turned to him as he wandered off, bored, to a trash dumpster and started pawing through garbage.

"Yeah…" Viper said. "He does that. Modified gimps are a lot better than the average shitty gimps, but because they're smarter they can't be controlled as easily either."

"Like Robo-gimp?" Hiniku suddenly realised. "You can't actually control him, that's why you guys have been trying to catch him all this time."

"Well… yes. Robo-gimp is especially taken with insubordination. We were going to take Ninja-gimp, seeing as he can like climb up and jump between buildings quickly, might be able to tackle Robo-gimp to the ground, but Ninja-gimp doesn't always want to follow orders, unless they're hit job orders. Then he gets the job done. We brought Hulk-gimp cause he's the stupid one, follows orders at least most of the time." Viper then turned around to shout out to Hulk-gimp's back "No offense, big guy!" He didn't react, just continued to paw through the garbage. Viper looked back to them. "That was a joke, cause he can't speak. And is too stupid to know what we're saying most of the time."

"I'm surprised at you, Unzari." Ryuuji said to her. "You were always the smart one. Whenever we caught you cheating it was always more elaborate than the others. Mazui would just hide cards up his sleeve and Soaku would swap her deck when you weren't looking… but you'd always come out with all these complicated little tricks, like punching holes in cards and stuff like that."

"Well cheating is beneath me now. It's beneath all of us."

"You don't say?"

"It appears that your glorious leader, _the_ world-famous Leviathan is not with you. He was the founder of the Sephiroth Tetragram right? Well that makes this easier for us. Our founding leader of the Omicron Crucis is not here yet either."

"That guy…" Ryuuji spoke with that far-off recollection stiffening his spine again.

"He also goes by a new name. The underground circuit just calls him 'The Demon'. Maybe soon you'll find out why."

"Enough of this!" Nagisa stepped forward. "We want answers! What are you planning with all these gimps?"

"The gimps? They are just pawns. They are the help, we only use gimps to do simple jobs that will eventually help our ultimate plan. Clearly, they can't do much more than that."

"Who's making them? Where do they come from?" Nagisa insisted.

"I'm not telling." The lazy girl gave a smile.

"Then duel us for it." Ryuuji insisted. "If we win you tell us more."

"Hmmm." Viper pretended to think about it.

"Hey!" Hiniku stepped forward past Yoshimitsu. "The last time I beat one of you guys, Soaku, she was supposed to give me information but she just called me a 'fucking bitch' and left."

"Well that's because she's nuts and has a violent temper." Viper answered. "But either way, I do believe a duel is in order. A duel with you, Honey-san."

"Me?"

"Yes. You beat one of us. Our superiors heard about it. We're supposed to monitor your skills. Consider you for our cause."

"There's no way I'm joining you freaks, you know that right?"

"Orders are orders."

"Fine." Hiniku said and reached into her pocket for her deck. Everyone around her stared at her in surprise. "What? Nagisa here said she didn't care who duelled me so long as I put my money where my mouth is. I might as well duel this smug girl right here."

"Oh no you won't be duelling me." Viper gave a small laugh. "I don't think you're that good. You'll be playing him." As she said it Mazui stepped forward, pulling up his sleeve to reveal his tattoo as it started glowing.

"Don't assume that just because you out-foxed Soaku you will be able to defeat me." He said.

"Shut up, Mazui." Hiniku retorted and he frowned.

"Why does everyone keep saying that to me?" He moped, annoyed, he raised his arm and the two mysterious cobblestone tables appeared.

"Pardon me, hun." Hiniku said to Ryuuji as she walked around to her table with a bit of swagger. She was looking forward to this duel and showing off in front of the others.

"Ladies first." Mazui began in a gentlemanly way after quickly setting out his deck. Hiniku was still shuffling her cards.

"But you challenged me? You get to go first."

"I believe chivalry is an art that should not be left to die."

"Whatever, dork." Hiniku put Trix, the Jester Cat down in front of her and the bizarre illusion of the card appeared giant above her head. The onlookers gasped, impressed. The curly-haired Mazui put his card down and she saw 'Top-Hatted Tailor', yet another Ruler she'd never seen before. Drawing her hand she smiled to herself and looked at the impassive boy opposite.

"Go Hiniku-san!" Yoshimitsu cupped his hands over his mouth to cheer her.

"Beat this creep!" Zappa also chimed in.

"Yeah, you rock at Dungeons and Dragons!" Ren called out and the other two stared at him.

"It's called 'Force of Will', Renbo-kun."

"Yeah that's what I meant."

"Alright!" Hiniku reached down to rest her hero card, the purple jester cat was already on the field licking his paw. "I generate a Light Stone and summon Little Angel of Armalla!" A yellow opal appeared and glowed brightly, a feather-winged child immediately appearing on the field.

"Nice play." Mazui commented.

"Err, thanks?"

"I generate…" His top-hatted ruler squatted to show he was in the rested position. "Oh, a Darkness Stone. This early on in the game? This will simply not do. Oh well. Nothing I can do about it. I end my turn."

"Hmph." Hiniku drew from her deck and added another Light Stone. "I summon Wish Fairy and then attack you with my Little Angel!" A hyperactive chirp and Hiniku's monster fired a heart-shaped arrow, glowing numerals appeared on Mazui's stone table and reduced to 3700.

"Another excellent play."

"Stop being nice. It's weirding me out."

"As you wish." Mazui smiled to himself as he drew another card. "I generate… oh good, a water stone this time."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yes?"

"You Omicron Crucis guys, you all play with darkness in your decks right?"

"Why yes we do. How did you come to that conclusion, pray tell?"

"You're the opposite of the Sephiroth Tetragram. I've never actually competed in the official tournaments but I always kept tabs on them. You guys were rival playing teams."

"Indeed we are. I am the antithesis of Celestia over there, because I play water and dark while she plays water and light. Soaku is the antithesis of Rayearth, because she uses fire with dark. Viper here is our version of your Windam. And of course, our leader The Demon is the opposite and arch-rival of Leviathan, one of the top-ranking duelists in Japan."

"Well I never saw much point in breaking out of my mono-deck element."

"So you only play light? We may need a player to match you who only plays dark. Then again, maybe in time you'll become _our_ mono-light player."

"Shut up and make your turn."

"If you insist…" His eyes glinted. Even with his passive nature there was something unsettling about Mazui… the grey sickening tinge to his skin that Soaku had, that same tinge was tainting that girl Viper's face as well. Something wasn't right with these guys, and their weird powers must have something to do with that as well.

"Now I play 'Cheshire Cat, the Grinning Remnant'." A cat-woman in skimpy clothing appeared on the field. "I may draw two cards when she enters play." He did so and now had eight cards in his hand. "Your move."

Hiniku drew a card and studied what she had. Soaku had been abrasive and rude while this guy was the complete opposite. It was still unsettling and she suddenly wanted to end this already, fast.

"I generate another Light Stone. Wish Fairy, attack!"

Butterfly wings fluttered and she blurred, gathering a mass of yellow light into her open hands. Then she blew them and they fluttered down into sparks like a dandelion.

"Block, my Cheshire Cat!" The woman pounced to intercept the attack and got hit by the raining yellow sparks. She hissed and shattered. "Instead of going to the graveyard she is shuffled back into my deck."

"Attack, Little Angel of Armalla!" Once again, the cute winged child shot a light arrow from its cupid bow and it collided with Mazui's table, reducing his life points to 3400.

"Well done. I am certain that attack almost tickled. I generate another water stone and now I have enough for… Etna, the Snow Queen!" A white-haired woman with fanciful icy attire appeared, humming merrily. She had 700 attack and defence, a lot more than either of Hiniku's resonators.

"Be careful!" Nagisa yelled from the sidelines. "That water card has a really good effect, Honey-san!"

"It's Hiniku!" She snapped and drew her next card, generated another stone. "I activate Light Sword Spell! A chant. By resting my remaining stones and sacrificing resonators, I can increase the attack and defence of one card of mine by 100 each this turn!"

"But you only have two recovered Light Stones." Mazui blinked, observing the two opals that were still glowing brightly, yet to be exhausted. "Even if you sacrifice your Wish Fairy, Little Angel of Armalla will have 600 attack and defence, meaning when Etna blocks it will be destroyed."

"Oh." Hiniku said. "Thanks for pointing that out. I won't play the card then."

"Um."

"Just kidding. Wish Fairy has an activate effect allowing me to add another Light Stone when she goes to the graveyard, meaning my Little Angel is on 700 and can take on your Queen! Go, attack!" Now armed with a glowing sword the angel sped toward Mazui who dipped his head and didn't block. His table was struck and his points decreased to 2700.

"I must say this is disappointing. I'm more level-headed than Soaku, don't think you'll beat me easy."

"So far you haven't even beat _one_ of my resonators. When you want to start playing seriously let me know."

Mazui drew and generated yet another Water Stone.

"Ah… look. An old friend. I summon Cheshire Cat, the Grinning Remnant." The woman appeared and Mazui drew more cards from his deck. He was now holding ten. "Is she the one from before? Or is she a completely new one? It's hard to say. And now… Etna the Snow Queen will attack you directly!" The woman weaved her hands until a giant glacial snowflake appeared, she hurled it with magic like a giant shuriken and it struck Hiniku's table, frosting it over and sending a flurry of cold snow whipping past her. Hiniku frowned, her nose going red from the chill. Her points went down to 3400. A glint caught her eye and she noticed that Little Angel of Armalla was frozen over, the glowing sword no longer in its grip.

"Hey! What happened to my resonator?" The angel-child looked almost peaceful in its tomb of ice.

"When Etna enters play one of your resonators can not recover so long as she remains on the field. Also when she deals damage to you, you must discard a card."

"Shit…" Hiniku didn't like losing cards while her opponent had so many. She dropped one into the discard pile before starting her next turn. "Ha! I bet you remember this card. Come on out 'Divine Queen, Ruler of Heaven'!" The glowing woman appeared in blinding glory, easily trumping Mazui's snow queen with 1000 power. "I used her to beat Soaku, remember?"

"I recall."

"Then you must also recall that by sacrificing an angel in play she gains Swiftness. So keeping around my Little Angel wasn't such a bad thing after all." Hiniku put her card in the graveyard and assessed her opponent. "Also, she can't be blocked by resonators with below 500 attack. Go!" A burst of radiant light that had Mazui and everyone else shielding themselves. Hiniku could've launched the attack at Etna, but she didn't trust all those cards in her opponent's hand. She needed to end this quickly. His life points decreased to 1700.

"And now you'll lose." Mazui began sinisterly. He generated his second Darkness Stone. "I now have enough magic stones to summon… 'Hamelin's Pied Piper'!" A caped man in a witch's hat immediately began playing his pipe, Hiniku's Divine Queen seemed to dim in light, lowering herself to one knee.

"When that card enters play he can make one of your resonators unable to recover!" Nagisa called out.

"That seems to be his go-to strategy."

"And every time he attacks he can pick _another_ resonator of yours and also have it unable to recover!" The blue-eyed girl pressed.

"Not good…" Hiniku muttered to herself. That card had 1000 attack and defence, on top of those effects it seemed too much.

"Yes, and now… Etna, my fair Snow Queen… attack her directly!" Mazui pointed and another snowflake-disc sailed toward her and she was buffeted with snow cold enough to make her shiver. "Don't forget to send another card to your graveyard, elf-eared girl." He reminded with a smile.

Hiniku narrowed her eyes and tossed away a chant. She had four cards – now five – while her opponent stood smugly in his ridiculous bow-tie and was still holding ten.

"Light Stone, you know the drill. Let's see. I play Maiden Seamstress and Little Angel of Armalla!" Her two female resonators appeared and stood proud before her, even though they were technically piss-weak. "That'll do for now."

"My dear it seems that's all you _can_ do." Mazui smirked and added his eleventh card to his hand. "I play a field addition called 'Austere Aquarium', as he put the card down they became surrounded in a glass case, alien marine life drifting about them. Their onlookers gazed around at it cautiously. "Now whenever one of us discards a card we lose 200 life points. I think it's pretty straight forward." As he said it Hiniku frowned. She would have to block his Ice Queen so she wouldn't lose life points along with another card. However his Piper had 1000 points and she couldn't afford to let him get to her either. "I also summon the Tipsy Port Watchman." What appeared to be a drunken old sailor appeared clutching a bottle of rum – only 300 attack and defence. "Attack my Pied Piper!"

"I block with Little Angel!" Hiniku watched her little critter lunge daringly forward, getting kicked into oblivion by the flute-playing man. Then she noticed her Maiden Seamstress twitching at the sound of the flute and falling to one knee beside her glowing power house. Dammit! She forgot about the effect. She couldn't use Maiden Seamstress's ability to draw more cards. She'd been relying on that. So many decent cards on her field and she couldn't even use them.

"She's wide open my Snow Queen! Go!" Etna fired another icy chill that reduced Hiniku's points to 1800 (including the loss from the Field Addition). They were even. Looking at her hand in frustration Hiniku discarded her Somniferous Spell Sage. She had two of them in her deck, one with a little bend in its corner and frayed edges that she had since childhood, and another she found in a booster pack a year ago and added it straight into her playing deck. She threw away her nice, neat one and hoped she made the right decision. She had only two cards left.

"I don't usually resort to this… but oh well! Here goes!" Hiniku turned her light stones. "I'm performing judgement to transform Trix into a J-Ruler!" The others peaked in curiosity, including Viper. Mazui smirked.

"Hmm. Interesting."

"Trix, Furry Funny Monarch!" Her rotund purple cat stood tall and proud, bigger and more tiger-like. He entered the field now wearing a crown and regal cape, atop the crown his jingling bells remained. "When he enters play a roulette occurs. If it lands on me, you can choose and destroy one of my resonators, but if it lands on you I can choose and destroy one of yours."

Mazui frowned but then his arrogance returned.

"Let's hope this time your gamble will pay off." As he said it his field flickered with yellow light, switching on and off, the sides blinking in turn before it slowed down enough and stopped on… Mazui.

"Yesssss!" Hiniku cheered.

"Fiddlesticks."

"I destroy your Pied Piper, obviously. And now my resonators are free to recover next turn. But before I end, I'll attach a regalia to my J-Ruler. I play 'Juggling Batons'!" Three dangerous bats the colours red, green and blue appeared and the Furry Funny Monarch began immediately juggling them. "It grants my J-Ruler with Target Attack, First Strike and Swiftness! Go, attack Etna the Snow Queen!" The card on 1100 would've easily destroyed its target, if not for…

"I block with the Tipsy Port Watchman." The drunken man heroically charged and was flattened by a juggling baton. "I'm sorry to say he also has an effect that activates upon being sent to the graveyard. You must discard your final card."

Hiniku hesitated. And then relinquished her last card. Her points dropped to 1600. Her opponent still had nine cards.

"I guess you beating Soaku was a fluke." Viper observed and Mazui seemed to inflate with pride.

"Hey, snake bitch, it aint over til it's over."

"Believe me," Mazui drew from his deck. "It's over. You're not the only one who can perform judgement. Come forth, 'Gentlemanly Renegade Rag-Ripper'!" His top-hatted Ruler transformed into a fiendish blue-suited villain, beneath his fluttering cape he lugged out a chainsaw. It began whirring and sputtering black smoke. "My J-Ruler may not be as strong as Soaku's, that's true, but with 1200 attack _and_ defence he will never be destroyed by yours. On top of that, at the beginning of my turn I may now draw an extra card for each resonator I have on the field. It appears I have all the cards in the world while you, my dear, have none. This game is over. I won't attack this turn because you will block with your Queen and kill mine. But it matters not, with so many different strategies to choose from in my hand you have no way of beating me! It all happens next turn. Make your final move."

Grimacing Hiniku drew her card and then stared at it. She kept staring. Her mouth twitched upwards. She couldn't believe it.

"Oh my God. You idiot. You complete dumbass. I completely forgot I had this card in my deck."

"What? What did you just draw?"

"This is so… wow. I mean. Really?"

"What?" Mazui whined, annoyed. Viper's interest looked peaked. Did she suspect an elaborate bluff?

"I play a chant: 'Glimmering Toadstool Gate'. We must both discard all cards in our hand and draw the same number of cards we discarded." Hiniku watched Mazui tilt his head in confusion while Viper dead-panned.

"But you have no cards in your hand to discard? You won't draw anything?"

"Yes, and that also means I won't lose any life points from your Austere Aquarium. You on the other hand, must discard all ten of your cards and that totals to 2000 points of damage."

Mazui's face went slack as he realized it.

"Oh! Oh…" His life point counter reduced to zero. Everyone stared at him. He once again sagged in defeat.

"Idiot…" Viper shook her head.

"Fiddlesticks."


	7. Chapter 7: Unclearness

Chapter 7: Unclearness

"Not half bad!" commented Unzari, upon witnessing the outcome of Hiniku's duel with her teammate Mazui "It's true that you have just beaten our worst player, but I can see that you do have some skills."

"Hey! That hurts!" retorted Mazui, frowning from the girl's mocking.

"Shut up, Mazui!" this time it was Nagisa who said it, winning once again a shameful sag from him.

"We will take consideration of this. Until we meet again." said Viper, then she rose once again her tattooed arm, which glowed once again. A black mist suddenly appeared, coating the girl and her curly-haired teammate, and then rapidly vanished, leaving the area clear and the two duelists nowhere to be found. Everyone was taken aback from what had just happened.

"Freaks." commented Hiniku, adjusting her fake elf-ear.

"They've gotten away!" shouted Ryuuji, angrily.

"This is bad..." said Daisuke with a frightened voice, adjusting his glasses. "Many of the rumors we've heard have just been proved true. What are they up to this time?"

"We'll all have to be wary for other appearances of them or of their rogue gimps from now on..." warned Nagisa. Yoshimitsu was silent, but his face easily conveyed a state of fear and confusion.

Hiniku got to the three Sephiroth Tetragram duelists and said

"Well then, how did that go?", her eyes blinking in anticipation.

"Hmph. It seems you can back up your high and mighty crap." said Nagisa with a frown, she was the most annoyed of the three with the short girl's antics "But I can assure you that it won't be long before you stop insulting others senselessly!"

"I'll be looking forward to it, Miss Celestia!" said Hiniku, smiling from amusement, while Nagisa's frown deepened.

"Hiniku-san, I don't think that it's time for that right now..." murmured Yoshimitsu as he turned to the two. Zappa, on the other hand, was looking at them with hungry eyes, excited at the thought of the inevitable fight between the two.

Everyone decided that it was best to end the day there and regroup later on in order to decide what to do.

"Guys, watch out on the way home for other bad surprises!" warned Ryuuji, worried.

"Okay, thank you!" answered the others.

Fortunately the monorail was rather tranquil and none of the gimps showed up, but when the fair-haired boy made his way back home, he found that his parents were worried about him.

"Yoshimitsu!" His mother ran at him and hugged him. "Are you all right?"

"Don't worry, mom." the boy reassured her while hugging her back "I'm fine."

"We've just seen the news..." added his father. In fact, the attack had been reported and the news had spread quickly. Not to mention what was already known about the jet-robot gimp.

"Thank goodness!" said Yoshimitsu's mother, her voice was broken "I was so worried..."

"Mom..."

The following day

It was the last day before the weekend, the last school day of the week. This thought was a source of joy for many students, with Yoshimitsu being no exception. However, as he went off, his parents were worried for him, because of what happened the day before, and Yoshimitsu was more wary, too. The first thing that he noticed upon arriving at school was that the security measures were increased, in order to ensure the safety of all the students of Makuhari High school in case of accident. Yoshimitsu entered his class and attended lessons as usual, but he could sense that the atmosphere had become much heavier because of the recent events that had unfolded. Even Zappa took notice of it.

"Hey, it's much gloomier in here today..." he said to the fair-haired boy as they went to the cafeteria. "Do they think that any of the super-gimps might attack the school?"

"You know what they say, better safe than sorry." answered Yoshimitsu "In particular, Robo-gimp has been spotted randomly in many areas of Chiba even before yesterday afternoon near the Yellow Submarine."

As they went on, they noticed that the reactions to gimp appearances near school changed, which was to be expected even after the events of Regent's Park. Any gimp that came close to any of the school facilities was monitored and everyone exercised caution around them. Their wandering away from them also made many students sigh of relief.

They had gotten downstairs when they found themselves in front of a worried Mizuki

"Yoshimitsu-kun! Zappa-kun! Are you all right?" she asked.

"Don't worry Mizuki-san, we're fine. Thankfully nobody got injured in that accident, even though it was really close..."

"Thank goodness!" said the black-haired girl, relief flooding her face. She then continued "As you have noticed, everyone is being more careful around gimps as a result of what happened yesterday..."

"Yes, we have noticed..." said Yoshimitsu.

"Who are you talking to, Mizuki?" inquired a voice. The three turned to the source to find out that it belonged to a young man with short black hair and brown-red eyes. He was none other than her brother Kaito.

"T-Takahashi-senpai!" Yoshimitsu greeted him a little nervously, with a respectful bow.

"Easy, Hayashi-kun." said the young man. His politeness had something eerie, unlike Mizuki's.

"Can I have your autograph?" Zappa dreamily asked, his eyes were shining.

"No." Kaito coldly answered, the spiky-haired boy lowered his head, sadly.

"If you want an autograph, you should come seeing me duel." the duelist continued, his brown-red eyes fixed on Zappa "I go by Oni in official competitions, go searching for that nickname. But, if you're trying to win my friendship, your efforts are futile. I don't associate myself with weaklings like you." Zappa became even sadder after hearing those words.

" _Why does everyone call me a weakling?_ " he thought.

"You should keep that in mind, too." Kaito said as he turned to Yoshimitsu "I've heard from my sister that you've recently started to play Force of Will as well."

"Y-Yes..." he shyly answered, his face flushed.

"I don't think I need to tell you that in your actual state you can't hope to duel me fair and square." continued Kaito "You're nothing but a weak newbie. Don't get me wrong, I know that I still have to ascertain your skills, but I don't expect much from you right now. The first thing you have to do as a duelist is to test and improve your abilities, so let me give you a piece of advice to do just that." Yoshimitsu listened, with a focused expression on his face.

"And make sure that your friend is listening, too.". The fair-haired boy took hold of Zappa's shoulder and made him sign to listen to Kaito.

"You should try out local tournaments. It's not hard to find them in Chiba, you could go there in weekends. You should be careful, though, in order to not get involved in accidents such as the one from yesterday."

The last part slightly startled Yoshimitsu. It wasn't really necessary to mention that. But still, the boy hid his cringe as best as he could as he answered

"Understood, thank you very much!"

"Hopefully you will be mature enough to face me soon enough. Until then, don't try talking to me." he concluded as he went off, leaving Yoshimitsu in equal parts surprised and fearful. His approach had been kind of scary.

"Brother..." Mizuki said, with sad eyes. It was clear that she had seen him act like that more than once.

"Does he always talk like that?" Zappa asked, slightly saddened from his idol's antics.

"Actually, he started some time ago..." the girl answered "Since he had lost to a strong player..."

"A player even stronger than him?" Yoshimitsu couldn't help but speak up "And who was that?"

"It's duel name was Leviathan." said Mizuki "The National Championship, in which my brother had triumphed, is only one of the greatest official circuits. Then there's the world tournament, known as Card Masters Circuit, and there are many ways to gain access to it, if you're a skilled player, with winning the Nationals being one of those. It was there that he was beaten by him..."

Yoshimitsu was surprised to hear that. He had heard the name "Leviathan" the day before, as the duel name of the founder of the Sephiroth Tetragram.

" _Are Ryuuji and Mizuki-san talking about the same Leviathan?_ " he wondered.

"Anyway, I'm glad to see that everyone is alright. Take care!" she bowed respectfully as she headed off. A student passing around couldn't help but be moved by Mizuki's politeness and couldn't take his eyes off her as she went. Meanwhile Yoshimitsu and Zappa headed to the cafeteria and sat with Ryuuji.

"Hello, guys!" he greeted them. He seemed cheerful as usual, but there was a shadow on his face.

"Hello, Ryuuji." "'Sup, Ryuuji." his two classmates greeted him back.

"It's hard to believe that those snakes are wrecking havoc… This is something unexpected, even from them." Ryuuji's anger in pronouncing those words was clear to see.

"Did they wreck havoc even before yesterday?" Yoshimitsu asked.

"Not really. They were just cheaters, except for their leader. He is really good, but he is capable of creeping out anyone..." A shiver ran on the red-head's spine at the thought of his previous encounters with that guy…

"I'm sorry. I didn't wish to make you recall bad memories..." the fair-haired who was talking to him apologized.

"It's nothing. Just… What are those guys up to this time?"

"Umm..." Yoshimitsu tried to change topic "Would you mind terribly if I asked a question about something else?"

"Of course not." Ryuuji's expression lightened a bit "It might even make me feel somewhat better..."

"Well… Do you know Oni, the national Japanese champion?"

"Yes, I do!" Ryuuji smiled "He won the Nationals and he got in the world championship because of that. He may had managed to get to the finals, but there our leader beat him.", thus confirming Yoshimitsu's thoughts.

"Is your leader in this school?" the fair-haired boy asked

"No, he isn't here, just like Nagisa and Daisuke, why do you ask?"

"I just wanted to know… Speaking of which, do you know that Oni and his sister study in this school?" Yoshimitsu explained, his blood chilled at the thought of what Mizuki had said to him.

"Yes, I know." answered Ryuuji "That guy is eerie, but I can assure you than the leader of the Omicron Crucis, "The Demon", as he apparently goes by in the underground, is much scarier."

"I see...".

They ate together, and the two found out about Ryuuji's impressive appetite. " _Wow! He seems to eat for at least 3 people!_ " thought Zappa as he was seeing him voraciously eating his lunch and some dango as dessert. " _Will I be able to beat him if I eat as much?_ "

They tried their best to live that day normally, but they couldn't help but notice that something was off...


	8. Chapter 8: Investigation

Chapter 8: Investigation

Something was off that entire day, and it continued unbridled to perturb Hiniku Kashikoi well into the night. She didn't like that those Omicron Crucis freaks were somewhere out there, gossiping to their superiors about her _potential_. Resting the baseball bat against her sneaker she then drummed it against the concrete floor. Instead of lying in bed and letting it get to her, Hiniku had decided to sneak out her bedroom window, sling herself onto the branch of the nearby Jacaranda tree and monkey-swing to the trunk before sliding herself down. Then she made her escape over the fence.

It was dark right now. And probably dangerous. They were at a warehouse compound.

To prove how serious Hiniku was about this she hadn't even brought her plastic elf ears. They were such a necessity to her school attire that she actually looked strange without them. Like she was 'cosplaying' as a regular girl. She'd also taken a baseball bat because what kind of girl walks the streets at night without protection? She could've slipped a knife from the kitchen and tucked it into her sleeve, but that seemed to be overdoing it. She'd met up with her schoolmates anyway. It was Ren's idea that they meet up here. Renbo Aichaku was walking toward Hiniku now, away from the nerd-shy Tonma and the blustering Baka.

The only lights came from the tall street-lights that hung over the chain-link fences, their artificial whiteness stretched out the teenagers' shadows and made the darkness between the warehouses inscrutably black. Hiniku lifted the bat and rested it on her shoulder as her fit classmate approached, hugging into his hooded jumper.

"I take it you also didn't want Baka here." He said with wide eyes. It was midnight, and cold enough that his breath came out in a steam cloud.

"Of course not. And due to the fact I'm holding a weapon I thought it prudent to wait over here until he stops spazzing out. I have a long life ahead of me, I don't want to spend the best years of it in juvenile detention because I was tempted to beat him to death."

"Ha… That's what I think I like about you, Hiniku-san. You're different. Not like other girls."

"If this is you coming onto me again I should walk away again before I get tempted to slug _you_ with this." Hiniku was eying the other two, Tonma seemed exasperated by Baka's jumping around and attempts to scare her. Hiniku restrained the urge to send the bat hurtling through the air, connecting with the side of his face.

"Okay, I give up." Ren sagged. "You might have the energy for this cat and mouse game, Hiniku-san, but I don't. The reason I wanted to do this was partly because of the reports. People have seen more gimp sightings around the warehouse areas of town, so I wanted to check it out for anything suspicious. Also though, yeah I wanted to hang out with you again. And you'd only sneak out when I said I was bringing another girl. Or is there another reason?"

"These Omicron Crucis guys are up to no good. I've been into Force of Will for a long time, but without joining official tournaments I've kept my skills on the down-low, until now. Ryuuji-san said I should leave these guys up to the Sephiroth Tetragram, but I don't like being told what to do…" Looking down she tapped the front of her sneaker into the smooth concrete. "And…"

"And?" Ren prompted, when Hiniku looked up she couldn't see his expression because the side facing her was covered in darkness. She sighed.

"And I'm only going to tell you this so you will _finally_ get off my case, okay? But if you tell anyone…" She dropped the end of the bat into her open hand to pantomime violence.

"What is it?"

"The… reason I would only go out places when you included Tonma-chan. Well… you were sort of right. I was jealous of… you." The short-haired blonde girl lowered her head as she whispered.

"Oh wow!" He started excitedly. "Wow I knew it!"

"No, you idiot!" She snapped before lowering her voice again. "I wasn't jealous _for_ you. I was jealous _of_ you."

"Uh… I don't understand?"

"Do I really need to spell it out?"

"Maybe?"

"Jeez." Hiniku pinched her nose in agitation. "I was jealous of you about Tonma-chan. It's not you I like. It's her." She regretted the words almost immediately after she said that, but for a moment it was a relief to admit it. Ren was silent for a while and she couldn't guess how floored he actually was by this revelation.

"Hiniku-san… are you saying that you're a lesbian?"

"Now how hard was it to figure that out? You dope."

"Um… I…" He turned away and then he turned back again. "I'm really stupid, aren't I?"

"Yes you are. Now let's get this show on the road. We've spent entirely too much time bumming around." Hiniku marched toward the other two, then she turned around and started walking backwards. "So yeah, now you know. I've staked my claim. She's mine." _Suck it, douche_. She thought with satisfaction before turning back to the others who looked over at her. "Alright here's how this is going to go. While being extremely careful we will proceed to investigate the outside of the warehouses, and peek in windows for anything suspicious. We want to try to find gimps, okay people?"

"Let's split up!" Baka stated immediately, and stepped slightly closer to the bespectacled girl.

"Yes, an excellent idea. Which will be why the boys will be sticking together while the girls stay together. Me and Tonma-chan. You and Ren."

"What!? No." He looked like he was going to throw a tantrum. "We can't do it like that. It's… not safe! The girls can't be staying together without a boy to protect them!"

"I'm the only one here with an actual weapon." Hiniku dropped the bat into her open palm again. "We'll be fine."

"But even with the weapon, you're too vulnerable." Baka insisted and Hiniku wanted to smack him. Her hand tightened around the handle. "Why don't we make it couples? You and Ren pair off again while me and Tonma go together!"

"Listen here fuck-face!" Now she was pissed. "I'm _not_ dating Ren and you're _not_ dating Tonma-chan!"

"Yeah…" the shy girl spoke up quietly. "Honey-san's right. I keep telling you Baka…"

"You two are obviously dating!" Baka stepped forward to leer. "And what's it to you if I'm with Tonma anyway?" He was right in her face and without thinking she raised the bat to smack him. Ren caught it from behind her.

"I don't think it's safe for us to split up at all." He said. "If we can't agree we should just all stay together." Hiniku and Baka both turned to narrow their eyes at him.

"Do I get a say?" the dark-haired girl began. It was remarkable that Ren could've convinced such a scaredy-cat to do something like this. As soon as Hiniku heard she knew she had to come. It already dangerously seemed like she might have a little crush on him. "I agree with Ren-kun. I think we should stay together. It's scary enough with just four of us." She huddled into her dusty-purple jumper.

"Fine." Hiniku breathed but Baka scowled like a child deprived of sweets. The short girl turned away and started walking. "Come on, we'll cover less ground but whatever. Stay close to the walls, we don't want to get caught on any cameras."

"Thank you, Honey-san." Tonma spoke up from close behind.

"It's fine…" She answered without looking, trying to fight the blush in her cheeks.

The four of them spent the journey around the first warehouse in silence, except when Hiniku and Ren had to take turns telling Baka to shut up. Tonma must be about as hopelessly thoughtful as Baka was hopelessly stupid. The dark-haired girl was nervous, sticking close to either Ren or Hiniku – who led the investigation around the perimeter. There were plenty of buildings here, some with company logos and equipment, but wouldn't hiding behind a friendly logo be the perfect way to conceal an evil base? All of the warehouses were padlocked. Twenty minutes passed without them spotting a single gimp.

"This is stupid…" Complained Baka who had the attention-span of an infant. "Let's break into one of them, it's the only way we'll really know."

"Most of these will be alarmed." Hiniku retorted.

"This whole idea is so stupid…"

"Hey what's that?" Tonma raised her shaky hand to point at the corner of the other building. The distant streetlights reflected like twin moons off her glasses. In the direction she was pointing stood a figure, possibly a gimp, possibly not. They all leaned forward to peer at it. It was slightly hunched, meaning it could be an older man. Waddling slightly until he was out of view.

"I think there's a good chance that was a gimp." Ren declared.

"So let's go." Hiniku reached up to fiddle with her elf ear before remembering she wasn't wearing them. Her arm fell limply and she started forward, leading the charge toward the mysterious figure.

"Ah maybe we shouldn't go that way…" Tonma whimpered.

"Don't worry," Ren tried to calm her. "I'm sure we'll-"

All of a sudden a powerful light beamed onto the group and they froze, raising their hands to shield their eyes. Another light beam switched on, and then another, blinding them from three directions.

"Shit…" Hiniku murmured.

"Security lights…?" Tonma whimpered.

"Well, well." A familiar cruel voice called out. "Look at what we have here!"

"That voice… Soaku!?" Hiniku raised her chin and squinted through the brightness, when her visioned returned what she saw startled all of them.

The red-haired Soaku stood with her arms crossed, a mean look of satisfaction on her face. Dressed in her usual punk get-up with fishnet material down her arms and legs, she didn't seem to be bothered by the cold. Behind her Mazui stood frowning in his brown suit and red bow-tie. On the other side stood Viper, the Asian short-haired girl in her Goth clothing and heavy eye-liner. Behind all three of them was a stretched line of about fifty regular gimps, standing hunched and at attention, all breathing through their gas masks.

"I've never seen so many gimps at one time before…" Baka whispered.

"Hello, _Honey-san_." Viper greeted derisively. "Funny seeing you here."

"Should've guessed you'd meddle in shit that didn't concern you." Soaku dipped her head smugly. "Now I'll get to fuck you guys up myself."

"Honey-san…" Tonma whimpered into her ear, even her voice was shaking. "Who are these people?"

"The Omicron Crucis, obviously!" Soaku screeched. "Wow your friends are about as dumb as you are!"

"Hey!" Hiniku stepped forward clenching the bat. "Making fun of me I can handle, but don't diss my friends you bitch!" she watched Soaku cackle.

"Are you kidding? Your friends are the most pathetic things I've ever seen! That guy beside you from before, I know he's pathetic, he tried hitting on me when I saved your asses from Robo-Gimp! And as for that other guy, he looks like a complete idiot, eyes all glazed over like a moron!"

"Well… I don't really care what you say about those two…"

"Thanks a bunch, Hiniku-san…" Ren whispered to her sarcastically.

"I must say this is not how I wanted this reunion to go." Mazui began and caused Soaku to flinch. "Manners are far more important. You catch more flies with honey than you do with-"

"Mazui!" Soaku whipped around. "Shut up! I _will_ kill you, Mazui! I swear on my life I will be the one to kill you if you don't shut up right this second!" Her voice went shrill and she was all twitchy.

"Hey screaming girl…" Hiniku took another fearless step forward. "If I'm such an idiot what does that make you? Considering I beat you in our last game!"

"How _dare_ you!" She spluttered, pulling out her deck. "You won't beat me this time- Huh?" Soaku stopped with her deck held up when Viper calmly put her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"I'll be her opponent. By beating you and Mazui, Hiniku here has shown remarkable ability. I'm the last challenge though. If she beats me we can take her back to the boss." Viper sounded so bored as she explained this, it seemed she was sure Hiniku didn't have a chance.

"No…" Soaku grimaced. "I have to stop her…"

"I'm in charge while The Demon is away." Viper replied. "Mazui, take care of the technology. Soaku, when he's finished you take care of the building and any evidence."

"Fine!" Soaku yanked her shoulder away from the other girl's hand and stalked off, forcing herself through the line of gimps. Mazui followed nervously behind her.

Viper's deck glowed green and black as she stepped closer. Two cobblestone tables appeared between them and Hiniku hesitated before walking forward as well. The utter lack of concern on the other girl's face was making her nervous, although she'd never admit it. Hiniku pulled out her deck, which she had the aforethought to bring with her, and extracted her ruler before splitting up the piles and shuffling.

Trix, the Jester Cat appeared before her, stretching in a feline way in preparation for battle. Before Viper appeared 'Kolbera, the Snake-Charmer Queen'. What was it with these rare Ruler cards these guys used that Hiniku had never seen before?

"You get the first move, Hiniku-san." Viper explained with no change in her expression. "You'll need it."

With her decks arranged she whipped out her hand and grinned smugly.

"I play a Light Stone and then..."


	9. Chapter 9: Closing In

Chapter 9: Closing In.

The following day.

It was Saturday, the first day of the weekend. Yoshimitsu woke up in the morning. He had a lot to think about the previous day. The Omicron Crucis, their rogue gimps, Kaito's frightening behaviour…

" _You should try out local tournaments. It's not hard to find them in Chiba. You could go there in weekends._ "

As he recalled what the National Champion of Force of Will had told him, the fair-haired boy thought:

" _Why not follow that advice? I might find out more about Takahashi-senpai and the competitive world of Force of Will..._ ".

After breakfast, he searched for Saturday tournaments on the Internet, in which he would participate in during the afternoon. He had to make sure that they weren't too far off, just to be safe, since going around town had become much more dangerous because of Robo-gimp still on the run. As he was surfing the net, a particular news page caught his eye.

"In the warehouse compound near Chiba the warehouse owned by the Tanuki Corporation was burnt down during the night. There are suspicions about the strange flying cyborg gimp being responsible of the incident. Such suspicions are strengthened by the increase of the presence of gimps in the compound before the accident..."

As Yoshimitsu read, fear and uneasiness were building up inside him, the thought of what that thing had done to the Yellow Submarine two days earlier was more than enough to send chills down his spine… Suddenly he received a call on his mobile phone. It was Ryuuji. They had given each other their phone numbers back in school…

"Hello? Yoshimitsu Hayashi here."

"Hi, Yoshimitsu! It's me, Ryuuji." he answered readily, with a tone of concern "Have you seen the news?"

"Yeah, one of the warehouses near Chiba was burnt down. Do you think that Robo-gimp destroyed it in a rampage?"

"Robo-gimp?" said Ryuuji "No, it was Soaku! She has a tendency to burn things, and if you combine that with a short temper, you know you're in for disaster! The Omicron Crucis were most likely using that warehouse as their base of operations, but it seems someone sneaked in..."

"That was their base?!" the fair-haired boy said in surprise. "So that's why there was an increase of gimp appearances in that zone..."

"Yeah..." answered the red-head on the line "They didn't want to leave behind any trace of their activity, so they left Soaku to go kaboom..."

"But who sneaked in? Do you have any clue of who they are or if they're all right?"

"According to the news, no carbonized corpses have been found on the scene, meaning that thankfully no one got killed in the accident. We don't know who they are, but I'm sure they're fine. I'm going to meet with the guys to talk about this. What are you going to do?"

"Well, I was searching for tournaments here in town. Right now, I'm concerned about Kaito Takahashi, the Force of Will card player known as Oni, the one we talked about yesterday..."

"Yeah, I understand. He's not linked to the Omicron Crucis in any way, if that's what worries you..."

"I'm not talking about that. According to his sister, his eerie behaviour is overly strange..."

"And you're going to investigate the possible causes?"

"Yes..."

"I see… Keep yourself out of trouble, and if you see the Omicron Crucis, don't confront them! They are very dangerous!"

"Got it! Thanks, Ryuuji!"

"No problem, Yoshimitsu! Good luck for the tournament!"

"Hey thanks! I'll need it a lot! Bye!"

"See ya!"

They both hung up at the same time. While Yoshimitsu kept searching, Ryuuji headed to the town centre, where he would meet the other members of the Sephiroth Tetragram and discuss the recent events.

Meanwhile, his teammate Nagisa was on her way as well. She was going through a side street, when she heard a voice that made her stop in her tracks.

"Fancy seeing you here, Celestia."

"That voice… Unzari Taidana!" said Nagisa, as she instantly recognized the voice. She turned around and saw her.

The Asian girl scowled and complained "It's Viper, will you just call me Viper? I've beaten a lot of people to get this name, I deserve to be called as such!"

"You don't deserve anything!" shouted Nagisa, angrily "What do you want?"

"Isn't that obvious?" replied Viper, as her head eerily tilted on the side "I'm here to duel you. I'm trying to have some fun. Last night I hoped a little girl who was trying to probe in our affairs could show me a good time, but it didn't happen. I do believe you know her. She's the one who beat Mazui last time, after all…"

"You mean Hiniku-san!" said Nagisa "So she's the one who sneaked in that base of yours!"

"Yes. I couldn't let her get to our secrets, so I dueled her and beat her! It was amusing to watch her confidence waver and crumble..." she said with a sinister smile on her face. "But then the entertainment ended in the blink of an eye." she sighed, her expression turning into her typical bored one.

"It can't be denied that someone like her kinda calls such a fate upon himself..." mused Nagisa, thinking about how troublesome she had been, and recalling that Ryuuji had told her to stay out of this story.

"No doubt about that. But I will beat you as well before you can tell your friends all of this."

Viper extended her tattooed arm and her Spirograph glowed. Two cobblestone tables appeared and the two girls went to them.

"You go first. Use that to your advantage, if you can..." said Viper as she sorted out her cards and put her ruler on the table. "Kolbera, the Snake-Charmer Queen", a woman in regal clothes with a silver and ivory mask covering her face and with snakes slithering at her feet and on her shoulders, appeared before her player.

"Don't regret it later on." Nagisa warned as she sorted her own cards and called her own Ruler, the Seer of the Blue Moon, a woman in blue priestess clothes with her face covered by a white cloth.

The Sea Wyvern narrowed her eyes looking at her hand. She was not pleased with the cards she got, but there was a card that could help her out. She rested her Ruler and got a Light Stone from her deck, and then she decided to put that card in play.

"I lay one card face-down, and I pay only 1 will instead of 2 to do this because of the Seer's effect! With that, I'll end my turn."

"Hmph." Unzari wasn't bothered at all by her opponent's move. She drew her card, rested her Ruler and earned a Special Stone.

"Looks like I'm one step ahead of you, Celestia!" Unzari calmly said with a slight smirk. "I gain a Stone of Black Silence!" That stone allowed her to use both Wind and Darkness will, perfect for her Deck type.

"I summon Rukh." she then said as she slammed on the table a card. A multicoloured hawk-like bird appeared on the field, loudly crying out. It had 300 Attack and Defense.

Now it was Nagisa's turn, and she drew her card and recovered her Stone. She then plucked a Water Stone from her stack.

"Now that I control two Stones, I can activate Five Challenges, which allows me to draw an extra card!" she proudly proclaimed as she revealed her card. She controlled the exact number of Stones she needed, so she could use that card.

"Next I use my Water Stone to put in play Knight of the New Moon!" A cute girl with rabbit ears in samurai armor appeared on the Sea Wyvern's side of the field. After that move, she passed the turn to her opponent.

Unzari generated a Wind Stone and, while she was not pleased with it, she had a way to use it nonetheless.

"I play Elvish Exorcist." she said, and a little elf girl in a black and green cape appeared. Her dazed and empty gaze made her look like she was controlled by a will that wasn't her own. "Of course, I'm not done yet. I attack with my Rukh, and you won't be even able to block it because of Flying. Yawn, how boring..."

The bird lunged to Nagisa's table as its claws began glowing of a green light, which then shone brightly as it struck the table with enough force to make Nagisa step backwards. Her Life Points went down to 3700. As the Rukh went back to its place a white snake with menacing red eyes appeared at its side.

"What's happening? What's with that snake?" the Sea Wyvern was taken aback from the automatic summon.

"It's simple, really." Unzari answered, with her usual bored tone "Whenever one of my Resonators attacks or blocks, Kolbera summons a Wind token Resonator with 0 Attack and 200 Defense, just like your Knight."

"It means that even if one of these tokens blocks my attack, another one will come!"

"Exactly. Make your move."

" _If I don't think of something fast, in no time she will be able to counter all of my attacks..._ " thought Nagisa as she drew her card and recovered her Stones. Her next Stone was another Water one, much to her joy.

"I summon Archer of the Crescent Moon!" she said as she rested a Water and a Light Stone and laid her card. An oriental warrior woman, armed with bow and arrows, appeared on the field. "She may be weak on her own, but she gains strength from her allies! She gains 300 Attack and Defense for any Wererabbit monster on my side of the field, meaning that right now, with my Knight, she has 500 Attack and Defense! Also, she has Flying, meaning that it can block attacks from other Flying monsters!"

Her opponent looked hardly impressed by the move, but the Sea Wyvern had another trick to pull off "I then play Stone Bowl of Buddha and, since it's a Treasury Item Addition, Five Challenges goes back to my hand from my Graveyard!" That card could prevent the opponent's Water Resonators to block an attack of her monsters… With that, she ended her turn, since she couldn't attack with her Knight.

Unzari drew and recovered, and then she gained a Darkness Stone. "I summon Dervish Count." The caped undead appeared on her side of the Field. "Rukh! Attack her!" The Archer didn't block, and so the bird slashed once again her table with its claws, making her Life Points go down to 3400. She noticed the appearance on her Field of 3 other snakes, which were now set in pairs.

"Oops!" Viper said with an unsettling smirk "I forgot to mention that all of my tokens gain a buff of 200 Attack and Defense for every other token on my side of the Field."

" _This is bad..._ " thought Nagisa. She looked calm and collected on the outside, but she was nervous, as the moves her opponent was pulling off looked more and more menacing.

"And now I get to use Dervish Count, since it has Swiftness. By sacrificing a monster on my side of the field, including Tokens, I can reduce your Life Points directly. I sacrifice Elvish Exorcist, so that you lose 500 Life Points!" The little elf was consumed by a dark mist, which then, guided by the arms of the Count, struck Nagisa's table, and her Life Points went down to 2900. "Unfortunately, since it isn't an usual attack, Dervish Count's move doesn't trigger Kolbera's effect, so I end my turn."

Nagisa drew her card and recovered her Stones. She smiled at her hand, because she got a card that could put her out of trouble. After generating a third Water Stone, she rested two Water Stones and proudly said "I play an Instant Chant, Rabbit Kick! Since I control Wererabbits, I can send two of your Resonators back to your hand, and this effect can hit Tokens as well, meaning that I eject your snakes from the game!"

A shining female figure with rabbit ears, radiating with blue light, kicked both her pairs of snakes away from the Field, and then vanished.

She used her two remaining Stones, Water and Light, to lay a card face-down and to summon a second Knight of the New Moon.

"Now my Archer has 800 Attack and Defense, and, since your Rukh is rested for its attack and cannot block, you're wide open! Archer, attack!"

The Wererabbit amazon leapt in the air and fired a shining silver arrow which collided with Unzari's table and, in a flash of blinding blue light, reduced her Life Points to 3200. They were almost evenly matched. Nagisa passed her turn to her opponent, who drew and recovered, then generated another Wind Stone.

"Your reliance on Chants will be your downfall. I play a Field Addition, Misty Jungle!" Suddenly, slim trees full of foliage, covered in a thick fog, surrounded the two duelists. "While this Addition is on the Field, you can't use Chants, not even the ones you lay face-down, even though they stay on the Field."

" _Dammit!_ " thought Nagisa. She could use another Kick to eject her other Resonators from the game, even though she didn't have another one in her hand... not to mention that card she had placed… " _Well, I guess I'll have to set up a plan B..._ "

That Addition cost 2 Wind wills and 1 generic will, which she paid for with her Darkness Stone. She then summoned a second Rukh on her Field with her last Stone, Black Silence, and then her first Rukh attacked, reducing her Life Points to 2600. A token snake appeared on the Field with 0 Attack and 200 Defense Points, ready to block and to be buffed. She then proceeded to sacrifice the Rukh that had just attacked in order to use Dervish Count's effect and inflict 300 more damage to Nagisa, who now was at 2300 Life Points. With that, the Asian girl passed the turn to her opponent.

After drawing and recovering, she rested her Ruler and gained another Water Stone. She then proceeded to execute her counter strategy.

"Who said I rely solely on Chants?" she said as she put an Armor on the table. "I play Heavenly Feathered Robe, equipping it to your Rukh!"

The shining figure of a beautiful young woman in a blue robe appeared behind Viper's bird and gently stroked it. The Rukh seemed really happy as it moved to Nagisa's side of the Field, with the woman by its side. "As long as the Robe is equipped to it, your Rukh is mine! Also, it becomes a Water-type monster!" Celestia said as the bird began to glow of a blue aura.

"It won't do you much good. That Resonator may have Flying, but it's a weakling." Unzari replied, with her usual bored tone.

"At least I deprived you of a defender!" said Nagisa "Besides, I'm not through yet! I used 3 Water wills to play the Robe, and I use my 2 remaining wills to play a second Archer of the Crescent Moon!" Another Wererabbit warrior woman appeared, glowing intensely. With 4 Wererabbits on Nagisa's side of the Field, both of her Archers had 1100 Attack and Defense.

" _Keeping Dervish Count in play would allow Unzari to double the damage output of her next attacker, even if it sacrifices him. I can't let that happen..._ " Nagisa thought, and so she made a decision. "I attack your Dervish Count with my first Archer!" The woman's arrow flew across the Field and hit the top-hatted undead, which let out a cry of agony before shattering. Nagisa's turn was finished.

"My move..." said Viper, the words coming out of her mouth almost like a yawn, as she drew and recovered. She plucked a second Stone of Black Silence from her stack. She then rested her first Black Silence and her two Wind Stones "I summon Rukh and Elvish Exorcist." Another multicoloured ferocious bird and another elf girl with lifeless eyes appeared. With that, she ended her turn. After drawing and recovering. Nagisa didn't rest her Ruler for a Stone, she was planning to perform Judgement. She also planned to attack with both of her Archers, but...

"I play an Instant Chant, Stoning to Death. Your newly summoned Archer will be destroyed." A barrage of black stones hit the archer woman with rabbit ears until she was finally smashed to bits.

" _No!_ " Nagisa thought " _I could have landed a decisive strike with two Archers! Not to mention that now the strength of my remaining Archer is lowered…_ " The blue aura radiating from her remaining Wererabbit flickered from the loss of power, her Attack and Defense going back to 800. Despite the opponent's sudden move, the Sea Wyvern finally decided not to change her plans.

"I rest my Light Stone and one of my 4 Water Stones to play an Addition: Jeweled Branch of Horai!" A tree branch covered in jewels and pearls, shining of a brilliant yellow light, appeared on Nagisa's side of the Field.

"Since it's a Treasury Item, it allows the Seer of the Blue Moon to perform Judgement!" she proudly proclaimed as she flipped her Ruler. The cloth that was covering the woman's face fell off and, in a flash of blue light, she became a blue-haired priestess in an elegant blue kimono.

"Guide the lost souls with your gentle light, Kaguya, Princess of the Moon!"

"So that's your J-Ruler?" Unzari inquired, totally unimpressed "It can't even fight."

"True..." Celestia replied "But it doesn't mean it is useless! Not by a long shot! Thanks to her ability, I can change the text of my Treasury Items regarding elements whenever it is required!"

"Are you done?" Unzari asked.

"Not yet! With my remaining three Water Stones, I summon Servant of Kaguya!" Another priestess, a girl with rabbit ears who looked younger than her Princess, appeared on Nagisa's side of the Field, glowing of an intense blue aura "Not only she has Flying, like my Archer, but she gains 400 Attack and Defense Points for every Treasury Item on my side of the Field, meaning that she now has 1600 Attack and Defense! With that, and with my Archer's Attack and Defense back to 1100, I'll end my turn..."

Unzari drew, recovered and generated a second Darkness Stone. "Excuse me, Celestia, did you say something about your Archer's Attack and Defense going back to 1100?" she asked, with an unsettling grin on her face.

"Yes, why is that?" Nagisa replied.

"I'm afraid it will end up in none."said Viper, her grin extending. "I play another Stoning to Death with my two Darkness Stones on your Archer of the Crescent Moon!" The barrage of black stones shattered the warrior girl, depriving Celestia of a powerful attacker.

"I then summon two more Rukhs and play an Addition from my Deck, Magical Snake String. Since my ruler is Kolbera, I can search it from my Deck and play it. From now on, my Tokens will be able to block attacks from Resonators with Flying, even if they don't have Flying!" Strange strings appeared on Viper's snake, making it float. They almost looked silken, but some dark sparks revealed their magical nature. With that, Unzari ended her turn. Her hand had run out of cards.

Nagisa drew her card. She was almost running out, too. She had two cards in her hand, and she had to use both of them

" _Unzari has no more cards in her hand..._ " Nagisa noticed " _But attacking her would be pointless, she_ _would be able to block all my attacks, and I would leave myself wide open, considering the tokens that will enter the game because of the blocks..._ " She rested her Ruler and gained a Light Stone.

"I rest 3 Water Stones and a Light Stone to summon Swordswoman of the Full Moon!" the Sea Wyvern proudly proclaimed as a woman with black rabbit ears, in samurai armor and armed with a katana, appeared on the field. She was much taller and much more mature than the Knights of the New Moon were.

"Upon entering she bounces one of your monsters back to your hand! I choose to eject from the game your snake token!" A majestic full moon shone brightly upon the Swordswoman, who then extended her arm and telekinetically moved the white snake, tossing it away from the Field. She still decided not to attack, because the damage wouldn't be enough to finish her off…

"I then play another Jeweled Branch of Horai!" she said as she put another precious branch into the field. " _I must play as many Treasury Items as possible._ _Somehow,_ _I know that I'll need them soon enough..._ " she thought. With that, and with the Servant's Attack and Defense going up to 2000, she ended her turn.

"I hoped that you could show me a much better time than this..." Viper sighed as she drew her card and recovered her Stones. Nagisa's attention and concern peaked "Now it's time for me to perform the Judgement of my own Ruler. I pay 2 Wind wills and 1 Darkness will to perform the Judgement of Kolbera."

The woman's silver and ivory mask fell off and, in a flash of green light, the queen revealed herself as who she truly was: a very attractive woman in an elegant white dress with green snake decorations. There were more snakes on an under her, and she had a malicious look in her eyes.

"May the world squirm in terror before you, Semiramis, Queen of Deception!"

She stepped in the Field with 1200 Attack and Defense Points.

"And now I play from my hand Elvish Exorcist." She used the only card remaining in her hand, another dazed elf girl. Then, she proceeded to her big move.

"I attack with all of my monsters." she declared

"I block one of your Rukhs with the Servant of Kaguya and your Exorcists with my Knights! The combined power of your remaining monsters won't be enough to destroy me!" Nagisa objected.

"I don't care if the attack lands or not, the important thing is to do it, isn't it?" Unzari replied. After blocking the attacks, with her Life Points going down to 1700, Celestia noticed a swarm of white snakes appearing on the Field. "As you most certainly recall, Kolbera had the ability to summon a snake token every time one of my Resonators attacked or blocked." the Asian goth girl explained, with an unsettling smirk on her face "Well, Semiramis summons two tokens every time! And don't forget that the snakes buff each other! I'm afraid this is your curtain call. Feel free to make every move you wish, it won't change the final outcome."

Nagisa's legs began to tremble. " _This girl…_ _As much as it pains me to admit it, she's an excellent duelist..._ " she thought " _If I don't do something quick, I'll lose! She couldn't attack with her newfound tokens because she had just summoned them, but in the next turn she will be able to attack, and buff herself even more! Also, with this Misty Jungle surrounding us, I can't use Chants. The card I'm going to draw must be something that can help me!_ " She held her breath and drew her card, the card that could save her or spell her defeat…

Relief flooded her face upon seeing it.

"Thank goodness..." she sighed, and then she recovered her cards and generated a fifth Water Stone. Unzari narrowed her eyes, wondering what her opponent was up to.

"Sadly, I'm not as skilled as my teammate in removing Additions..." the Sea Wyvern proclaimed "But I can do it too! I rest one of my Light Stones to play an Addition, Holy Grail!" The fabled golden chalice appeared on the Field and shone of a blinding yellow light, which dissolved the Misty Jungle surrounding the two duelists.

"What the?" Unzari exclaimed, caught off guard from the play

"When I play Holy Grail, I get to destroy one of your Additions, and I chose your Misty Jungle!" Celestia explained.

"Was that your last stand, Celestia?" Unzari inquired, her interest at its peak

"No, this is! I rest 2 Water Stones and my remaining Light Stone to search for a Treasury Item in my deck and put it in my hand. I choose Heavenly Feathered Robe, and I rest my remaining Water Stones to equip it to your Elvish Exorcist!" After Nagisa shuffled her deck, she put the card on the table and another shining female figure in a blue robe appeared before the empty-eyed elf. As the woman patted her, life went back into her lifeless eyes, and tears of joy escaped from her as she moved to Nagisa's side of the Field.

"That's not all!" Nagisa proclaimed "With Misty Jungle out of the picture, I can now activate my face-down card, Five Challenges! Since I have 5 Treasury Items on my side of the Field, not only I get to draw a card, but all of your monsters go back to your hand! You know what that means, don't you?"

A blinding blue light engulfed the field, and when it vanished Viper's snake tokens were nowhere to be found. Her opponent's Chant had ejected them from the game, along with her remaining monsters, which were bounced back in her hand, leaving her side of the Field empty.

"Now you're finished! Go, Servant of Kaguya!" The rabbit-eared priestess, whose power rose to 2400, by performing an elegant dance with fans, summoned waves of lunar energy which struck Unzari's table, her Life Points went down to 800. "Swordswoman of the Full Moon, finish her off!" the woman lunged forward and slashed the Asian girl's table, with enough force to make her fall back. As her Life Points reached zero, the cobblestone tables and the illusions of the creatures rapidly disappeared.

"Seriously?" Unzari sighed as she got back on her feet "I didn't even have the time to enjoy myself a little..."

"Stop sighing and answer me!" Nagisa shouted "What have you done to Hiniku-san? What are your goals?"

"Hmph." Viper replied, unwilling to collaborate "Like I would tell you so easily. It's very rude to probe into the affairs of others, don't you know?" She then rose her arm above her head and a black mist appeared "As for Honey-san, don't worry. She's safe and sound."

"Don't you dare!" Celestia shouted as she ran to her with the intent of grabbing her and preventing her from escaping

"You can't stop me." Unzari said as the mist, which quickened its movements as well, completely obscured her and a telekinetic force repelled Nagisa. And then, a yawn was heard

"Yawn, what a pain..."

The mist dissolved and the Asian girl in goth clothes and eyeliner was nowhere to be found.

"Dammit!" Nagisa shouted in frustration, then she proceeded on her way to her teammates. She could never hope to stop the Omicron Crucis without their help and she knew it. Besides, she had just found intel to give to them, even if just a little...

"I must reach the others as soon as possible! Wait for me, guys!"


	10. Chapter 10: Stained Pride

Chapter 10: Stained Pride

Hiniku Kashikoi woke up. At first, it looked like a normal morning, as she went downstairs, where her parents were waiting for her.

"Ah, good morning, Honey!" her father greeted her, using the nickname she couldn't stand. He wanted to bother her, in order to spark a reaction in her, and he succeeded.

"Don't call me like that." she scowled in response. It wasn't the first time her parents called her attention with that name in order to purposely irk her.

"Good, you're fully awake!" her mother observed, with a smile "Come, breakfast is ready!".

She sat with her parents and had breakfast. However, perhaps it would have been better if they hadn't used their trick to fully wake up her daughter, because memories of the nightmare that the night before had been began creeping up in her mind and surfacing on her head.

 _Hiniku had managed to defend herself from her opponent's assault. She was left with 3000 Life Points, since she had managed to defend herself from Unzari's monsters with her Angels. However,_ _that came at the cost of leaving her_ _side of the F_ _ield empty and,_ _as a result of her attacks,_ _her opponent_ _had four snake_ _t_ _okens, with 600 Attack and 800 Defense each._ _T_ _he short girl knew all too well that_ _a wrong move could spell her downfall._ _Also,_ _the snake girl_ _had activated Misty Jungle, preventing her from using more Chants._

 _She drew her card and recovered. She rested her ruler, gaining her seventh Light Stone, then she proceeded to get her strategy underway._

" _I rest two Light Stones to use Trix's effect!" She decided to try destroying one of her tokens before doing anything else. The Jester Cat began to glow bright yellow, and its roulette activated, lighting all the cards on the Field, one after another. The light slowed down on Unzari's side of the Field, then one of her Tokens got destroyed, just as she had hoped._

" _Yes!" she cheered. However, Viper looked hardly bothered. Hiniku proceeded to the second part of her strategy._

" _I then rest two Light Stones to use Somniferous Spell Sage's ability on himself!" Unzari's interest peaked, despite her face maintaining its usual lazy expression. In fact, Hiniku had checked her cards with Akashic Archives during her previous turn, so she knew exactly which monster would be summoned by the ability. She picked the card from her deck._

" _Divine Queen, Ruler of Heaven!" The radiant woman appeared on the Field. It could attack right away, since it was summoned by the Spell Sage._

" _I'm not through yet! I equip her with Silver Star Bow, raising her Attack by 400 Points!" With the Armor, the Divine Queen's attack rose to 1400 and she gained Pierce._

" _Your_ _t_ _okens are too weak to block her! Go!" The being of light extended her arms and fired a burst of yellow light to Viper's table, reducing her Life Points to 2_ _0_ _00._ _The goth-dressed girl shielded her eyes from the blinding light of attack, but, when she lowered them after her Life Points went down, Hiniku saw that her bored expression hadn't changed in the slightest._

" _Why the hell_ _is she_ _keeping that face?" Hiniku thought "She doesn't even care! She's seriously creeping me out..." However, she concealed her agitation as best as she could._ _She had managed to deal_ _significant_ _damage to her opponent, but she had run out of options, so she had no choice but to pass the turn to her opponent._

 _"Your move..."_

" _This is the end, Hiniku-san." Unzari calmly said as she drew and recovered. "To think I was getting my hopes up here... I perform my Ruler's Judgement, paying two Wind wills and a Darkness will!" In a flash of green light, the woman shed her Ruler form and transformed, stepping forward with elegance and entering the Field, followed by the snakes slithering at her feet._

" _May the world squirm in terror before you! Behold! Semiramis, Queen of Deception!" The woman had a malicious look in her eyes and her mouth was curved upwards in an unsettling smirk, the same smirk creeping its way on Unzari's face. Hiniku was feeling nervous, even though there was no trace of fright on her face, which appeared as calm and collected as usual._

" _Since you've attacked with your only monster in your turn,_ _you're wide open! I attack with my token!" Three white snakes lunged towards Hiniku's table as their fangs began shining of a green colour. They bit at her table, making her Life Points go down to 2600. As the snakes got back at their previous position, more of them appeared on Viper's side of the Field, forming a vicious swarm. Hiniku's eyes widened in horror._

" _While_ _Kolbera summoned one token every time a monster of mine would attack or defend, Semiramis will summon two tokens_ _instead_ _!"_ _Unzari explained, clearly enjoying the look on her opponent's face_ _"_ _I continue attacking with my remaining tokens!" The white snakes swarmed Hiniku's table, as her Life Points went down to 1800, then to 600. She barely survived the attack, but Unzari was far from done. She still_ _had_ _one Resonator recovered and ready to attack: the Dervish Count._

" _Dervish Count! Take the snake's strength and finish her off!" The caped undead weaved its arms as a deep black mist consumed one of the_ _snake tokens,_ _then, as its arms moved towards Hiniku's table, the blackness struck it with_ _great_ _strength,_ _making_ _Hiniku fall back onto her ass_ _from the shock_ _. She could only watch hopelessly as her Life Points went down to 0 and the cobblestone tables disappeared, along with the illusions projected by them._

" _Now tha_ _t was_ _disappointing_ _, Honey-san." Unzari commented "_ _Was that_ _all you had got?_ _Were you_ _really thinking_ _that_ _fighting me would have been_ _as_ _easy as facing Soaku or Mazui?_ _" Her voice had regained its usual bored tone. However, Hiniku was hardly paying attention to her words. She was deeply shaken by the loss she just suffered,_ _her eyes wide open in disbelief and shock._ _Her_ _classmates_ _were no less s_ _tupefied_ _._

" _What the hell did just happen?"_ _a thunderstruck Baka asked_ _._

" _Hiniku-san just lost…?" Ren's answer was more of a question, expressing his disbelief._ _Even if he didn't know the game, that fact was easy enough to understand for him._ _Tonma was_ _just_ _shaking in_ _utter terror_ _, incapable of letting out a sound_ _._

" _Hey, are you even listening to me?" Unzari inquired, still in her typical bored tone. "_ _Don't tell me you have never lost a duel before._ _That's just_ _borderline_ _ridiculous._ _Then, perhaps you did expect me to be as much of a wimp as those two..._ _"_ _Hiniku still hadn't recovered herself from the shock of what was_ _actually_ _the first loss she ever experienced in her life._

" _H-Honey…_ _s-san?" Tonma feebly attempted to call her, with a voice full of fright._

" _Hiniku-san! Are you alright?" Ren tried to call her as well, stronger than his classmate did, enough to make Hiniku recollect herself, even if just a little,_ _just enough to notice the goth girl mov_ _ing_ _her arm as if she was charging a blow._

" _Well then, if you don't have anything to say to that, just get lost already!"_ _she said as she swiftly moved her hand right in front of Hiniku's stomach, without hitting it. A dark wave was released from her hand, investing the group of teens and knocking them back to the entrance of the compound, where they had come from._

 _W_ _ith the group of teens out of her sight, the goth girl eerily turned to one of the 500 gimps at her disposal, inspecting it with her eyes. The hunched creature just stared back, breathing loudly,_ _its eyes glowing green through its gas mask_ _._

" _What's with that look?" she said, even though she knew that the gimp would have never understood her taunt._

" _True. I could_ _have_ _just kill_ _ed_ _them, but what thrill would I gain from that?_ _The others may get pleasure from killing, as for me, it only gets me bored..._ _" she mused as she walked back and forth in front of the gimps. "Besides, H_ _oney_ _-san still has managed to beat Soaku and Mazui, so none of us can lay a finger on her by direct order from The Demon…"_ _She stopped in her tracks as she heard a faint sound of footsteps from behind the wall of gimps. It was Mazui, carrying some peculiar looking machines._

" _Un-err, Viper, I've finished collecting all the technology." he notified to his teammate, making sure to call her by the name she had chosen for herself._

" _Good. Now head to the next site." she replied "Soaku and I will follow shortly once we're done here."_

" _Your wish is my command." he said, with a slight bow, as he obeyed, moving to an alternative way out of the compound, probably an emergency exit of some sort. As he moved away, Unzari rose an arm above her head as a small smirk appeared on her face, and then she snapped her fingers._

" _Soaku. You know what to do."_

 _Soaku, who had gotten back in one of the warehouses nearby and was standing in there at attention, chuckled darkly as soon as she saw Viper snap her fingers, which was her signal to act. She swiftly took a can of gasoline and spread it on the floor, then, with a devilish grin on her face, she moved her hand near to the liquid and it burned, with no need of external sources of heat. She began chuckling once again, and, as she flailed her arms around, burning other particularly flammable spots of the building solely by extending her hand towards it, her cackle became an insane laughter which could be heard even from where Hiniku and her classmates winded up in._

 _As the building burnt down, Unzari moved in the direction Mazui followed before, and the gimps retreated. Hiniku and her classmates were watching, but the short girl's mind was still bent on her utter destruction at the hands of Unzari. Tonma was shaking uncontrollably, in terror._

" _Wh-What should we do now?" she whimpered, with her voice shaking from fright. In that moment, Hiniku's expression began showing signs of anger at her loss. She quickly got back on her feet and began to walk in the direction she had come from before._

" _Hiniku-san, where are you going?" Ren asked her._

" _Leave me alone!" she shouted over her shoulder, making her anger and frustration clear to the boy, who was taken aback by her tone. "I'm going home." she sped up her steps and headed back home._

" _Hinuku-san..." Ren sighed. He had never seen her lose before, also given the fact that he had seen her play very seldom, besides that time at the public venue when she had beaten him. Still, one thing was crystal clear to him._

" _She definitely didn't take that one well..." he thought. It was then that the three remaining teens heard sirens in a distance._

" _S-Sirens?" Tonma whimpered._

" _Looks like the incident just got out..." Ren mused._

" _Oh no!" Baka suddenly burst out, scared "We've gotta get out of here, or else, they'll think we're the culprits." He spat out, not realizing that what he had said made little to no sense._

" _Shut up, Baka!" Ren shouted to him, making him almost fall back from fright, and then hang his head in shame._

" _Well, the idiot is right about one thing..." he then continued. "It's best for us to head home and call it a day, for now, in order to not get into more trouble than we already did tonight..." That was something everyone could agree on. As the sound of the sirens became louder and louder, Soaku's insane laughter eventually ceased._

 _Hiniku had already arrived home, made her way over the fence, climbed on the Jacaranda tree near her house and entered her room through the window. As soon as she got in, she just got in her pajamas and threw herself on the bed, trying to force herself to sleep, as if she wanted what happened just then to be nothing more than a bad dream._

" _H-How..." That thought was fixated on her mind, until she fell asleep._

As Hiniku recalled those events, a shadow appeared on her face, and her hands clenched in fists.

"Huh? Is something the matter, Hiniku?" Her mother called.

"No, it's nothing..." She replied. She didn't want her parents to know about the humiliation she had suffered the night before. Not to mention that she had sneaked out of the house in late night. They would have definitely scolded her if they knew. And getting reminded of her defeat was the last thing she wanted in that moment.

However, her tone didn't really convince her parents.

"That didn't sound like nothing..." her father was the first one to object.

"I told you it is!" Her tone of voice raised irritably as she replied.

"Young lady!" Her mother scolded "What has gotten into you?" The short girl shot up on her feet in frustration.

"Nothing." she tartly replied. "I didn't sleep well, okay? Just leave me be." She then moved back upstairs, in her room. As she went off, her parents gave each other a meaningful glance, wondering what was the matter...

After entering her room and slamming the door closed, Hiniku sat on her bed. Her head hung, the thought of her defeat fixated in her mind…

Not wanting to hear anyone, she turned off her mobile phone. Her eyes crossed the room, before falling on a small box on her desk. It was her deck, her prized deck that had guided her to many victories before… that happened…

" _I've played with those cards since I was a child… I've won so many games with those..._ " The pleasant memories she had of that deck began to flow in her mind… Only to leave the place to the bitter memories of the night before…

" _How_ … _How could I lose? Why now, of all times…? I can't believe I lost..._ "

Her clenched fists were gripping the bed at the frustration the girl was feeling… At her stained pride...

It was then that it dawned on her… It was then that she recalled what she herself had said to her classmate that very night…

" _I've been into Force of Will for a long time, but, without joining official tournaments, I've kept my skills on the down-low, until now..._ "

She remembered that she had to face people that had been to tournaments. True, according to Ryuuji, they were cheaters, so they might not have been much of a hassle to begin with (which was the case with Soaku and Mazui), but still, all of them were ahead of her.

" _Oh_ … _I'm a complete dumbass!_ _Why didn't I think about it earlier?_ " she thought as she slapped her hand on her forehead. She should have expected such a thing to happen! It was out of luck that her prized tactics had triumphed over the screaming bitch and the dorky suited-man, but luck eventually runs out…

Knowing what she had to do, she went to her laptop and turned it on. She had to search for official tournaments in town. Suddenly, she heard a knock at her door.

"Hiniku? Can I come in?" her mother asked from behind the door. Hiniku sighed in response, then she decided to let her in.

"Yes." she answered. Her tone was lighter than before, but still, not the lightest. Her mother entered the room and looked at her.

"Is something wrong?" she asked seriously, concern written all over her face "Don't try dodging the question. You're worrying me, you know that?"

"I don't mean to, mom." she replied in a sigh. "… I lost a game..."

Her mother was taken by surprise by her daughter's answer. So much for a lost game? Isn't that a bit of overreacting? However, the surprise wore off as she remembered that her daughter was incredibly proud and that she had never lost a match before.

"Well, why don't you try again and do your best, then?" she encouraged her daughter, with a smile.

"Am planning to do it." she replied, matter-of-factly. "I'm searching for tournaments today."

"Ok." her mother said, relief flooding her face. "Tell me when you've found one! I wanna know what my honey shortcake is planning!"

"Stop it!" she snapped, but it wasn't as hard as before. It was just her usual reaction at her parents' teasing. Her mother chuckled, glad to see her daughter go back to her usual self, and left the room. However, Hiniku hadn't told her everything. She couldn't tell her that she had sneaked out of the house at late night. She knew she'd make her situation worse if she did, so she decided that it was best to keep her mouth shut about it.

Meanwhile, Ren was staring at the screen of his phone. He had been trying to call her, but what he heard was the same every time.

" _Hello. Hiniku Kashikoi here. Please leave a message._ "

He couldn't contact her. He sighed, wondering how she was doing. Definitely not well, given what happened the night before… He received a message. For a split-second, he hoped that it was Hiniku responding, but the hope vanished when he saw it was Tonma.

"Good morning, Ren-kun… Do you happen to know how's Honey-san? I can't call her..." The muscled boy replied quickly

"Same here. I tried to contact her, but I'm getting no answer..."

"I hope she's fine..." was Tonma's reply to that text, to which Ren totally agreed.

"Yeah, me too..."

He had just sent the text when a sound from his TV caught his attention. An online gaming session was about to start.


	11. Chapter 11: Agreement

Chapter 11: Agreement

The three Sephiroth Tetragram duelists had finally gathered in the town centre. They entered a bar and sit at one of the tables. They felt safer there, considering the attacks of Robo-gimp in the past days, even though they knew that no place was actually safe. Ryuuji was the first one to speak.

"As you know, the Omicron Crucis are still on the run. We have no idea of what they are thinking, and they could appear at any time, when we least expect it."

"Well… They've always been kind of unpredictable… Especially him..." Daisuke added, his voice trailing of as he mentioned him, while he adjusted his glasses with a shaky hand. A shiver ran down all of their spines at his mere mention.

"About the damage they're capable of… Well, the recent news about what's left of that warehouse say more than enough." Nagisa added

"You're right." Ryuuji couldn't help but agree "Their newfound powers make them a major threat. And they make it even easier for them to slip away from us..." he said, with audible anger.

"Well… I've found out something about the ones who sneaked in the warehouse." Nagisa claimed, making the heads of her teammates turn to her.

"What is it, Nagisa?" Ryuuji asked.

"While I was coming, Unzari challenged me." The statement made both Ryuuji and Daisuke gasp in shock.

"I managed to beat her and to gain this information." she continued "However, I couldn't get more from her." She lowered her gaze in shame.

"Don't sweat it." Ryuuji told her, with a reassuring smile "The most important thing is that you're still with us. We're lucky to still have you. Besides..." Ryuuji's face became serious as he kept going "You know how much of a trickster Unzari has always been. So, what have you found out?"

"The one who sneaked in the warehouse and prompted them to retreat was Hiniku-san." Nagisa revealed. Her teammates reacted in different ways at her words.

"H-Hiniku-san?" Daisuke exclaimed in astonishment.

"I knew it..." Ryuuji grunted in annoyance, facepalming. He somewhat expected the short girl to ignore his warning. Nagisa continued her explanation.

"According to what little I managed to get from Unzari, she had sneaked in, but Unzari had found her and dueled her. It appears Hiniku-san had lost, but managed to make her escape and now she's safe and sound..."

"Do you know if she had done this alone or if she had someone with her?" Daisuke asked.

"No, I don't know..." she replied. Ryuuji angrily slammed his palm on the table.

"That idiot! Why did she have to be so reckless? Why has she gotta be so damn selfish?! Does she even understand what this is all about? She's lucky she's even still alive!"

"To be honest, I wonder how Yoshimitsu puts up with her..." Nagisa mused, agreeing with her teammate over Hiniku's annoyingly cryptic behaviour.

"He doesn't." Ryuuji replied "You've seen how embarrassed he was with her yesterday..."

"Speaking of which..." Daisuke suddenly spoke up "How's Yoshimitsu?"

"Oh, I just talked with him a while ago." the red-head answered "He'll probably be going on a tournament in town today. He told me he's concerned about that Oni duelist, you know the one."

"Y-you mean the one who faced Leviathan-sama and lost to him in the last Card Masters Circuit?" his classmate with glasses asked.

"Yeah, him." Ryuuji agreed. "Gloomy and eerie, even though he doesn't hold a candle to him in that field..." The last part of his statement triggered another shiver from all of their bodies.

"Well, at least he has something to keep his mind off from them..." Nagisa said.

"Yeah." Ryuuji agreed "This isn't a game. The less people get involved in this, the better. Going to tournaments might still be risky, though… I had already told him to be careful."

"Yeah… About that…" Daisuke inquired "Where could they possibly have retreated?"

"Well, if they had used a warehouse as their base of operations, they must have searched for a similar building..." Ryuuji mused "And they might be hiding behind the same logo of the one that had burnt down… What was it again? Tanuki, or something…?

"That would be too predictable, even for them..." Nagisa objected "Wherever they should choose to settle, there will most likely be an increase of gimp presence in the nearby area. But I doubt that trying to get information by simply hunting them down would be effective… They would be able to just push us back and run away again..."

"Yeah..." The truth of that statement was crystal clear to the red-head, who clenched his fists on the table in anger. "Those snakes are mocking us!" he growled "They will put themselves in plain sight, yet we won't be able to get them!"

"The only moment in which they will be vulnerable is the one in which they will strike..." Nagisa said. "They will be exposed only when they'll put their plan in motion..."

"Which means that the only way we can stand a chance is to gear up and prepare ourselves for whatever they're up to..." Daisuke said. That was something all of them could agree on.

"We should be ready for anything!" Ryuuji stated. "Those guys might pop out when we least expect it, what had happened to Nagisa on her way here should be enough proof of it..." At that statement, he gave Nagisa a meaningful glance. Worried gazes flew between the three duelists sit at the table...

Meanwhile, Yoshimitsu Hayashi was sit at his desk, with his cards on the table. He had found the tournament he was looking for, and he was training for it. It was in another store in Chiba, called "Burning Passion". He had to search for stores since the Yellow Submarine was being repaired and couldn't host a tournament. 7 other duelists had already registered for it. Unfortunately, he had to travel by monorail in order to reach the shop, which meant that he was exposed to eventual rampages from Robo-gimp or the Omicron Crucis. He had already talked about it with his parents, asking his father to come with him, knowing that it would be safer...

" _Hopefully it'll put their minds at ease..._ " he thought, before going back to his training. He was trying out the possible strategies and tricks he could pull off with the cards he had. Of course, he was also looking forward to buying more cards for more strategies.

Suddenly, his cellphone rang, interrupting his training. It was Zappa. Yoshimitsu answered the call.

"Hello? Yoshimitsu here!"

"Wazzup, Yoshi!" The spiky-haired boy's greeting was as bright as ever.

"Hi there, Zappa! How are you?" Yoshimitsu replied, with the same bright tone.

"Oh, I'm fine, thank you! How's it going on your end?" he cheerfully took the question right back at him.

"Going all right, thank you!" the other one answered "I'll be going to a tournament this afternoon!"

"Tournament?" Zappa was taken by surprise by his friend's reply "Wasn't the Yellow Submarine out of commission because of Robo-gimp's attack?"

"It is." the fair-haired boy clarified "Actually, I'll be going to another store. It's called "Burning Passion". Ever heard of it?"

"Nope. Must have started hosting tournaments only recently..." Zappa said, with perplexity, but then he quickly became excited "But the name is cool! Burning Passion! That's exactly what defines me, Zappa Kurosawa!"

"Yes, indeed!" Yoshimitsu let out a laugh. He was expecting such an answer from someone like him. "What are you doing, Zappa?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm just playing a round of online shooting." the spiky-haired boy replied. He was a fierce player of first-person shooters, a genre that his friend didn't enjoy very much. He preferred other gaming genres, such as JRPGs…

"Oh, right!" Zappa suddenly spoke up as he remembered something. "I've met Ren online!"

"Renbo-kun?" Yoshimitsu replied. He knew that Renbo was a shooter at heart as well. It was him that had introduced Zappa to many FPS titles, and they spent a lot of time playing together online.

"Yep!" Zappa continued "We were chatting as usual when he asked me to ask you if you had heard from Kashikoi-san this morning..."

"Hiniku-san?" Yoshimitsu's astonishment grew in hearing his friend's words, and he also felt a slight sense that the conversation was starting to get serious. "No, I didn't. Did something happen?" he asked.

"Well, he told me that she had her phone off all morning, since she hanged out with her friends last night..." Zappa explained.

"Did he tell you where they went?" he inquired.

"Well..." he replied "He told me that they went to explore the warehouse compound. I wanted to ask him why the hell would they have done that, but the session ended before I could. Why do I feel they had been dragged there by Baka?" As he talked, the realization hit Yoshimitsu like a truck. The one who had broken into the warehouse and had forced the Omicron Crucis to change their base of operation was none other than Hiniku Kashikoi.

"Do you know if she's fine?" he asked, with an intensely concerned tone.

"They all went back to their homes after sneaking in that night, so I suppose she is..." Zappa replied, taken by surprise by his friend's concern "...Why do you ask?"

"Zappa..." Yoshimitsu began "Have you checked the news?"

"No, why?" Zappa answered, more confused than anything else "Seems pretty serious... Is it related to this outing?"

"Yes!" the fair-haired boy replied "The warehouse Hiniku-san, Renbo-kun and their friends had wandered into was the building the Omicron Crucis had chosen as their base of operation!"

"Omicron Crucis?" Zappa replied, as his tone changed from confused to concerned "You mean those creeps controlling the gimps? The ones we faced at the Yellow Submarine?"

"Them, you can't get it wrong!" Yoshimitsu explained. He already had the scenario in mind. "Hiniku-san and the others must have encountered them while they were investigating. They pushed them away with their powers and burnt down the warehouse before moving to another area."

"Oh crap! It is serious!" Zappa exclaimed "Ren and the others have been really lucky to make it out of there in one piece!"

"Exactly what I was thinking!" Yoshimitsu replied.

"Because they did make it out of there alive." Zappa assured his friend "Ren had told me that Kashikoi-san had turned off her phone after getting home, which means that she is alive and well… As for the others, well, Ren is playing with me right now, so..." The statement slightly eased the fair-haired boy's mind. That was enough proof that Hiniku, Renbo, Tonma and Baka were all safe and sound.

"But still!" Yoshimitsu said "We can't underestimate the situation! Those guys are ominous!"

"Yeah, and, as far as we know, they might pop up at any second, anywhere!" Zappa stated.

"We'll have to be careful, from now on..." Yoshimitsu murmured, thoughtfully.

"Yes, but being careful doesn't necessarily mean becoming a shut-in." Zappa remarked "If we did, we'd be doing what they want us to!"

"Did I give the impression I was thinking about enclosing myself?" Yoshimitsu asked, confused by the direction the conversation was turning to…

"A bit." Zappa replied "You know, if we focused on avoiding all the dangers we might come across, we wouldn't be really living, would we?" The spiky-haired boy's words made worry sprout in Yoshimitsu.

"Now you're giving me the impression of someone who would jump to danger..." He said, his voice slightly wavering.

"Nah, I'm not that reckless! I, Zappa Kurosawa, am not thinking of getting in trouble any time soon!" His friend boasted, in a blast of confidence. "But I am someone who wouldn't let go of his ambitions because of some creeps! In fact, I was planning to try challenging Ryuuji again this afternoon..." Yoshimitsu chuckled at the statement

"Well, good luck!" he told his friend, then his voice turned serious again "If you get to know anything else about Hiniku-san and the others, please tell me!"

"You got it, bro! I'll message you if I get anything else!" Zappa cheerfully replied "Oh, shoot! Sorry, gotta go, soon the gaming session will start again!"

"All right. Have fun!" Yoshimitsu replied.

"And you knock 'em dead at the tournament! If you got past Zappa Kurosawa, you can triumph over any foe you come across!" his spiky-haired friend boasted, in an imposing voice, which then resumed a cheerful tone "Good luck and have fun, Yoshi!"

"Thank you, Zappa!" Yoshimitsu replied, before hanging up. He then decided to try calling Hiniku, in order to check up on her. However, when he made the call, all he heard was a recorded message.

" _Hello. Hiniku Kashikoi here. Please leave a message._ "

" _She really has turned off her phone..._ " Yoshimitsu thought. " _Crap. If I had Renbo-kun and the others' numbers, I could have checked on them as well..._ " His thoughts wondered to his friends. Zappa, Hiniku, Renbo, Mizuki, Ryuuji, Nagisa, Daisuke…

" _Oh, right!_ " he suddenly remembered " _I should notify Ryuuji about the shop I've found!_ " He took the phone and texted to Ryuuji "Hello, Ryuuji! I've found a tournament. The name of the shop is Burning Passion." Soon, a reply came.

"Good job, Yoshimitsu! Good luck and have fun! Remember to watch out for the Omicron Crucis!"

"I will! Thank you, Ryuuji!" Yoshimitsu replied.

"You should train with your deck before going, so that you already have an idea of the strategies you could use." he read.

"Thanks for the advice! I was doing it." he replied.

"Good job! Do your best!"

"I will!" he replied, before going back to his training, gearing himself up for his first tournament.


	12. Chapter 12: To the First Battle

Chapter 12: To the First Battle

Yoshimitsu Hayashi was having lunch with his parents. He had spent the morning training with his deck and talking with his friends through his mobile phone. After lunch, he will head to the card shop with his father. There, he will take part to his first official Force of Will tournament.

"Yoshimitsu..." his mother asked him, in a worried tone. "Have you searched for info about this new shop?"

"Of course, mom!" he assured "It seemed spacey enough from what I was able to see… Perfect for hosting tournaments! 7 other players will be taking part in this tournament."

"Don't worry." her husband assured "I'll be accompanying him." At those words, she felt relieved.

"Oh, Yoshimitsu." the historian then turned to his son. "You should take your friends at this shop, sooner or later."

"Yeah, definitely!" Yoshimitsu nodded "I'll do it the next time I'll go there!"

"Do they know about this shop?" his mother asked.

"I told them as soon as I got it." he answered.

"So we should expect big rallies in that shop, eh?" his father joked.

"Ahahaha!" Yoshimitsu laughed at the joke "In case there's a tournament, of course!"

After lunch, the fair-haired boy took his cards and headed for the monorail with his father.

"We're off, mom!" Yoshimitsu saw off her mother with a smile.

"Take care, both of you!" she told her son and her husband as they left.

They sat on two open seats in the vehicle which would have taken them to their destination. As it went, Yoshimitsu started fidgeting and playing with his deck.

"Feeling nervous, Yoshimitsu?" His father asked him.

"Hehe, yes..." he replied, with a slightly nervous chuckle "This is my first tournament, the duelists there must be really skilled."

"Don't let it get to you!" his father told him "Just have fun and enjoy the ride. Remember, you're going there to learn, and you learn by playing." The fair-haired boy nodded in approval of his father's words.

"Also..." The historian continued his pep talk to his son "Games like these exist to get players to know each other better. Other players are not just opponents, but people like you, with different dreams and mindsets. These games, and life in general, is about sharing these dreams and these mindsets. Remember that." The words were engraved in Yoshimitsu's mind.

"Yes, Dad." He greatly respected and admired his father, because he always had something to tell him whenever he felt insecure, he was always ready for some pep talk. He wished to be just like him: a man who wasn't only secure, but could also give security with others.

"You know, there was a great gaming community in the shop I bought your deck from. People were not too concerned with losing or winning, they were just enjoying themselves. That's what the spirit of such games should be."

As the historian finished speaking, the monorail cab had reached its destination. A few metres from the monorail station, Yoshimitsu and his father were quick to find the Burning Passion. It looked bigger in size than the Yellow Submarine had been, and it looked like it was specifically made to host tournaments. However, there was one more thing that surprised the fair-haired boy. Beyond the door, he could see a familiar looking girl, with long black hair. As he and his father approached the entrance, the girl rose her head and turned to the incoming visitors, revealing her brown eyes, which sparkled in seeing the boy.

"Yoshimitsu-kun! You're here too!" she exclaimed in joy as she approached her classmate.

"Mizuki-san!" Yoshimitsu exclaimed, letting out his surprise, which doubled in seeing two people behind her: a tall young man with short black hair and reddish eyes, and a short girl with short blonde hair and grey eyes, wearing plastic elf ears. He immediately recognized both of them.

"Takahashi-senpai! Hiniku-san! You're here too!" he exclaimed again, gobsmacked.

"Oh, are these schoolmates of yours?" his father asked, before greeting the youths "I'm Yoshimitsu's father. My name is Daichi Hayashi. Nice to meet you all."

"Nice to meet you, Hayashi-san." Kaito was the first one to greet the man back, in his formal way, with a faint smile "My name is Kaito Takahashi, and yes, I am acquainted with Hayashi-kun." The historian nodded and smiled in response "Nice to meet you, Kaito-kun."

"Nice to meet you, Hayashi-san!" his sister greeted, with a slight bow and a warm smile "I'm Kaito's sister. My name is Mizuki Takahashi. Yoshimitsu-kun and I do know each other."

"Nice to meet you, Mizuki-san!" his father gladly greeted the girl back. Lastly, Hiniku stepped forward and bowed respectfully before the historian

"My name is Hiniku Kashikoi, good sir. It is a honor to make your acquaintance." she said, while her head remained bowed. The man was surprised by her oddly polite manners.

"Oh, well..." Yoshimitsu muttered, wishing to explain the situation to his father, his face flushed with embarrassment, but the man simply chuckled it off.

"Hehe. Nice to meet you, Hiniku-san." he simply answered, before turning to his son. "Well then, Yoshimitsu, I'm going back home, call me once the tournament is finished. Good luck and have fun!" His son was surprised by how he had taken Hiniku's exaggeratedly formal greeting, but he replied nonetheless.

"Thank you, dad! I'll call you when I'm done!" he said. Then the historian waved to the youths while heading to the monorail station. Once he was out of sight, Yoshimitsu turned to Hiniku.

"Hiniku-san..." he said, with a tinge of concern in his voice. The elf-eared girl, quickly understanding what he wanted to talk about, glared at him, in order to prevent him from saying one more word.

" _Not. Now._ " This is what her gaze seemed to tell., hard enough to make the fair-haired boy back off.

"So..." Hiniku said, while her face abruptly took a cheerful expression, confusing the boy all the more "You came here to try out the tournament, didn't you, piglet?"

"Oh, yes, I did!" Yoshimitsu replied "Are you competing as well, Hiniku-san?"

"As much as I would like to be..." she fiddled with her fake ears as she answered "No. I merely came to assist and see how such events work. This is actually my first time at tournaments like this..." Yoshimitsu didn't fail to notice the oddness of such a statement coming from the one who was weirding out duelists of the caliber of the Sephiroth Tetragram a couple of days before, but he kept his mouth shut about it.

"You're playing too, Yoshimitsu-kun?" Mizuki said, her eyes twinkling "In that case, I hope I get to duel you today! I'm participating, too!"

"Really?" Yoshimitsu got excited as well, hearing that "That's amazing! I'm looking forward to seeing how you play, Mizuki-san!"

"This will be a chance for me to see how you play, Hayashi-kun." Kaito said, seriously, yet politely, making Yoshimitsu's blood chill.

"Um, are you participating too, Takahashi-senpai?" he asked.

"No. Unlike my sister, I have no interest in participating in tournaments for rookies..." he answered. "I simply came here to see my sister's performance in this charade. You should know that she's no slouch."

"Yeah, I imagine..." he replied, coping with the eeriness of his formal ways, while Mizuki watched with a forlorn gaze.

" _Brother..._ " she thought. The sight of her brother being that way was almost too much to bear for her.

"Hey!"

Suddenly a voice called from the door of the shop.

"Duelists, come in!" The owner of the shop was calling the tournament contestants in. Everyone entered. Mizuki and Yoshimitsu placed themselves in front of the owner's table in the shop.

"So, you are?" he asked, wishing to ascertain the identity of the participants.

"Mizuki Takahashi, Ruka." she replied as she showed him a printed piece of paper bearing her Duelist Code, the ID card of every duelist. Of course, Yoshimitsu had gotten one for himself as well. The shop owner nodded in approval, then turned to Yoshimitsu, who was quick to answer.

"Yoshimitsu Hayashi." he said as he took his Duelist Code and showed it to the man.

"Say, youngster, are you a newbie?" he asked. The question slightly embarrassed the fair-haired boy.

"Y-yes..." he said, scratching the back of his head "I've started playing this game only recently, and this is my first tournament… Why is that?"

"You don't have a duel name yet." the man explained. "I suggest you to find yourself one as soon as possible. It's not mandatory, but still. Everyone has one, these days. Think of something. Who knows, an idea might come from today's experience!"

"I'll see what I can think of." Yoshimitsu replied, still slightly flushed "Hopefully something will come to my mind..."

"For this tournament, I'll call you Yoshi." The shop owner said, smiling cheerfully.

"Ok. Thank you." The fair-haired boy replied, with a slight bow, before turning to greet the other duelists who had come for the tournament.

"Yoshimitsu, correct?" One duelist, in particular, cheerfully greeted him "I'm Hiroto Ueda, but in the competitive world I'm known as Echidna. Nice to meet you!" He had short aquamarine hair and blue eyes. Yoshimitsu slightly loosened up and greeted him back "Nice to meet you, too!" The duelist smiled, then turned towards Mizuki, with his smile still on his face.

"Of course, it's nice to meet you as well, miss Ruka." he greeted politely, bowing before her and making both her and Yoshimitsu blush, albeit for different reasons.

"Ooohh, Echidna-sama! You're here!" A girl shouted, psyched, from near the entrance of the shop. She was buzzing from excitement, and there were at least 3 more girls looking at Hiroto with adoring eyes. Yoshimitsu and Mizuki were taken by surprise from the scene that was unfolding.

"Oh, that's right! I guess I owe the newcomers some explanations." the shop owner exclaimed, before turning to Mizuki and Yoshimitsu "This shop didn't start hosting tournaments that long ago, but the very first tournament that took place in here was won by Hiroto-kun."

"Oh, so he must be a really good duelist!" Yoshimitsu commented. The thought of having to face him excited him, yet scared him at the same time. He got a little tense.

"He is." another boy said. He had brown hair and matching brown eyes behind a pair of glasses, and he reminded the fair-haired boy of Zappa. "I had faced off with him in the finals of that tournament, and I had lost. He is really good."

"Why, you're not?" Hiroto objected, with a warm smile "You gave me a pretty hard time back then. I would say you're just as good as me, Yuusha!"

"I'm honored to hear that from you, Echidna..." the duelist replied with a goofy smile of his own, then he scratched the back of his hair "But still, you got me good!" Seeing their idol show respect to the worthy opponent that the brown-haired boy had been, the girls squealed at how dreamy he was.

"Oh, Ueda-kun! You're just amazing!" one of them dreamily murmured.

"I hope I get to duel with him today!~" another one said, her voice brimming with hope, in a slightly naughty tone.

"Nuh-uh!" the first girl rebuked "The chance with Ueda-kun is mine! I've seen him on person! It is my destiny to get closer to him!"

"Oh yeah?" a third girl joined in the quarrel "How many times did you see him?" From the looks of it, the situation seemed on the verge of escalating...

Yoshimitsu, Mizuki, Hiroto, Hiniku, Kaito and the brown-haired duelist were witnessing the scene. Hiroto was flushed with embarrassment with the situation, even though it flattered him to have fangirls.

" _Wow! Just how much do these girls want their chance with Hiroto-kun?_ " Yoshimitsu thought. He and Mizuki were embarrassed and surprised by the fierceness of their dispute over her idol. The brown-haired boy was slightly less embarrassed by them, because he already knew of the fangirls' adoration of Hiroto. Hiniku's eyes narrowed in annoyance as she was tempted to smack both Hiroto and her fangirls. She thought it was stupid to get a crush on someone just because he was good in a card game. Not to mention that the girls looked like a bunch of brainless chicks to her. Kaito's expression was stoic, not betraying any emotion.

"Calm down, girls!" the shop owner shouted, in order to put the quarrel to an end. "I'm the one deciding who duels who here!" Eventually the girls stopped fighting.

"Sorry about that." Hiroto turned to Yoshimitsu and Mizuki, apologizing for the situation.

"Yoshimitsu-kun, Ruka-san, it's nice to meet you!" The brown-haired duelist greeted them properly and introduced himself. "My name is Nobu Kato, but my duel name is Yuusha."

"Nice to meet you, Nobu-kun!" Yoshimitsu greeted back, and Mizuki did as well.

"Good luck with the tournament! Especially to you, Yoshimitsu-kun!" he said, with a warm smile "I've heard it's your first time in an official competition. I hope you can have as much fun as I always do when I'm taking part in events like this!"

"Well..." Yoshimitsu said, feeling comfortable thanks to him "Your excitement is already giving me a good feeling about this tournament!"

"Good to hear! Good luck again!" he said.

"Same to you!" Yoshimitsu replied, then the shop owner made an announcement.

"Attention, duelists! Tournament matches will be made in 20 minutes. Use this time to make any last adjustments you need to your deck!" Everyone followed the shop owner's advice and took a seat at the tables, pulling out their cards and adjusting their decks. Yoshimitsu and Mizuki sat next to each other.

"Mizuki-san, is this your first time here, as well?" the fair-haired boy asked her.

"Yes, it is." she earnestly replied "It looks more professional than the other shops I've been to in Chiba..."

"Agreed." he said, scratching his reddened cheek with his index "I'm a little glad Zappa isn't here, though. He would have gotten so jealous of Hiroto-kun for taking all the attention…"

"Probably." Mizuki mused. "Ueda-kun is quite the gentleman, but I have the funny feeling that he's like that with every girl that crosses his way..."

"Yeah, quite..." Yoshimitsu agreed with his schoolmate's statement. "Anyway, the duelists here seem really good!"

"Yes, they do! Doesn't that make you feel excited?" Mizuki told him. "The more challenging the tournament, the more fun you'll have, regardless of who wins in the end!" The statement left Yoshimitsu speechless. He was surprised in seeing that her mindset was similar to his in terms of winning or losing duels. He finally expressed his agreement with a smile and a word

"Indeed!"

Eventually, they adjusted their deck and were finally ready for the big game.


	13. Chapter 13: Local Tournament (pt1)

Chapter 13: Local Tournament (pt.1)

"The matches for the first round have been made!" the shop owner stated with enthusiasm "It appears that Yoshi has a mirror match coming up! Both him and his opponent have the same ruler!" The news startled Yoshimitsu a little.

" _What? Does that mean my opponent can predict my every move?_ " he thought. The opponent that he had to face and that had his same Ruler, and therefore might have known his strategy, was Yuusha.

"Oh, it seems I'll be your first opponent!" he cheerfully said "Let's do our best!" he extended his hand, wanting to shake hands with the fair-haired boy as a sign of respect. This made Yoshimitsu loosen up as he shook Nobu's hand.

"Sure, Nobu-kun! I promise you'll have nothing less than my best!" he said. They sorted out their cards and shuffled their stacks. Yoshimitsu took a look at his opponent's Ruler and noticed that he did have Puss in Boots as well.

Meanwhile, Hiniku and Kaito took a seat nearby, watching them and the other duelists as they got set. Hiniku could see that one of the duelists was competing with Trix, the Jester Cat, her prized Ruler card, while another one had Red Riding Hood, a card which was best used with Werewolves and was known as a swift hit-and-run Ruler, perfect for assaulting duelists.

" _A Ruler like that would be fitting of Ryuuji-san's style..._ " she thought. Then, her eyes moved to the table where Hiroto and one of his fangirls were sat, about to face each other. She was buzzing with excitement, it looked like she was in heaven. He, on the other hand, had a smile of flattery and slight embarrassment on his face, while he was scratching the back of his head. A sight that Hiniku found revolting. It was then that Kaito spoke to her.

"You can't stand such a sight, can you, Kashikoi-san?" he asked her. The short girl slightly shook her head in response.

"Well, neither can I." he continued "Those who rely on their fame always crumble down in the end."

"Well, what about you?" Hiniku asked.

"I don't care that much." he earnestly replied, in a cold tone, with a stoic frown. Their eyes went back to Yoshimitsu and Nobu, focusing on studying their schoolmate's performance.

"You go first, Yoshimitsu-kun." Nobu decided, and the fair-haired boy complied, resting his Ruler and getting his first Wind Stone.

"I'll begin by summoning Elvish Priest." he stated, while slamming on the table his top supporter Resonator. "And it's your move." Yuusha was a little caught by surprise by his opponent's move, but he proceeded with his turn nonetheless, drawing his card and gaining a Wind Stone of his own.

"I'll summon Grimaud, the Loyal Retainer!" he said, while putting in game his own monster. It was a strong-looking man with 200 Attack and Defense, but a peculiar ability.

"Once Athos will enter the Field, it will gain 500 more Attack and Defense, as well as Precision." Yuusha notified.

" _I need to be prepared..._ " he thought " _I'll have to get an advantage through Elvish Priests_ ". He drew his card and recovered his Stone, then he rested his Ruler, gaining a Stone of Gusting Skies.

"What?" Nobu exclaimed, in surprise.

"I'll rest my two Stones to summon Porthos and my Elvish Priest to summon a second Elvish Priest!" he said. "With that, I'll end my turn."

"Yoshimitsu-kun..." Nobu inquired "Your deck is an irregular Musketeer deck, isn't it?"

"Irregular?" the fair-haired boy was caught by surprise by his opponent's observation "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, all of my cards are themed on the Three Musketeers, while yours are much more diverse..." the duelist explained "Such irregular decks usually need careful planning, in order to create alternative combos..."

"That's true..." Yoshimitsu replied "But they should also be less predictable, and their maneuvers should need more figuring out, right? I guess that's an edge for me..." Mizuki turned to the table at which her schoolmate was sit, and heard his comeback, which had amused her. Same could be said about Kaito and Hiniku. While the former simply nodded, maintaining his stoic frown, Hiniku giggled a little.

" _What a surprising twist! The piglet can do comebacks as well!_ " she thought " _Maybe Ryuuji-san was right about him, after all..._ "

"Yeah, you're right." Nobu smiled, his smile was brimming with excitement "Now let's see if I can figure you out. I draw and recover!" He then rested his Ruler and got his own Special Stone, one that could produce Wind and Darkness will… a Stone of Black Silence.

" _I've never seen that stone before…_ " Yoshimitsu thought " _But I've heard that there are Darkness cards associated with the Three Musketeers, so I should expect one of those anytime soon..._ "

"I play Milady, the Malicious Charmer!" Yuusha said as he put on the table a card depicting a dark-haired woman in elegant clothes, with a malicious look on her face. It had costed him both of the two stones, since it was a Dark card costing 1 Darkness will and 1 generic will. It sported 500 Attack and Defense, and it could be rested to attach an Armor to an enemy monster from Yuusha's hand.

" _Lily Brand, the Mark of Death?_ " Yoshimitsu thought as he read the name of the card. " _It can't be anything good..._ " After that, Nobu passed the turn to his opponent.

"I draw and recover!" he said, deciding to not rest his Ruler for a Stone. " _I have to close this game as soon as I can!_ " he thought, having an idea…

"I rest both of my Stones to summon Aramis!" he claimed "Then, with its effect, I only have to rest an Elvish Exorcist of mine in order to summon Athos!" For its effect, Athos attached to itself a Musketeer's Bayonet from its player's deck, but Yoshimitsu's combo wasn't done yet.

"Since the Three Musketeers are assembled on my side of the Field, I'll perform my Ruler's Judgement without paying any will!" he said as he flipped his Ruler card, revealing the true human form of Puss in Boots. "All for one and one for all! Enter the fray, D'Artagnan, the Bayoneteer!" With their J-Ruler on the Field, the Musketeers were buffed. Athos had 1600 Attack and 1200 Defense, Aramis had 900 Attack and Defense, and Porthos had 1100 Attack and 800 Defense. He had managed to build a wall for whatever threat his opponent might have sent him. Hiniku was impressed with the move Yoshimitsu had managed to pull off.

" _He has managed to assemble the trio so fast thanks to those Elvish Priests of his..._ " Nobu thought, surprised by his opponent's move, as he started his turn. " _He's really good. I can't break through that wall by attacking with my units, but there is another way..._ " He drew and recovered, resting his J-Ruler for a Wind Stone.

"I use Milady's effect, equipping a Lily Brand to your Athos!" he said, as he put a card from his hand close to Athos. It beared the image of a brand stamped with fire on a person's neck. "It's the sign of those that are sentenced to death. At the start of my next turn, your Athos will be destroyed!" At that statement, Yoshimitsu became tense.

" _I'll have to make the most of Athos while I still have him..._ " Yoshimitsu thought.

"I'm not through yet!" Nobu claimed "I'll summon my own Athos from my hand by resting all of my Stones!" Since the strongest of the Three Musketeers was on his side of the Field, with 800 Defense and 1200 Attack, because of the attached Musketeer's Bayonet. Any Grimauds on his side of the Field (one, in that moment) became a small powerhouse with 700 Attack and Defense, as well as Precision.

"My turn's done." he said, but as his opponent began his turn, drawing and recovering, he thought " _I'll have to get rid of his Elvish Exorcists. Even if he doesn't use them to produce will, they will be vulnerable to the attacks of my Grimauds. I just need to summon more, and..._ "

" _He'll probably be wanting to summon more Grimauds..._ " Yoshimitsu thought. " _I should try to attack him with Athos. He probably won't block, since he seems to want to keep his units' buff for future maneuvers..._ " He drew and recovered, not turning his J-Ruler for Stones in order not to expose it to enemy attack. The card he had drawn was a very interesting one…

"I rest both of my Stones to summon Aramis from my hand, and with his effect I summon my second Athos without paying any will!" With its effect, then, Athos equipped to itself a Musketeer's Bayonet from its player's deck.

"Then, I'll attack you with my previous Athos!" Nobu decided not to block, letting the attack past, and his Life Points went down to 2400. "And it's your move." With that, Yoshimitsu concluded his turn.

" _That's my last Athos..._ " he thought " _I'll have to protect him from other Lily Brands… And I have the ideal card to do just that!_ "

Yuusha began his turn, drawing his card and recovering the rested cards on his side of the Field, while his opponent's first Athos went to the Graveyard because of the Lily Brand. He had gained a Darkness Stone, and was ready to use the newly drawn card, when…

"I'll rest my Elvish Priests for Law of Silence! You won't be able to play any cards this turn!" That card foiled Nobu's idea. The brown-haired duelist got tense.

" _I won't even be able to use Milady's ability because of that card!_ " he thought. He analyzed the situation and rethought his strategy " _I can't attack right now, I'd risk to leave my units vulnerable to his retaliation… But he has no cards in his hand, he has used them all in his turn… I might use that to my advantage..._ "

"I'll pass this turn." he decided, not doing anything, but, as soon as Yoshimitsu started his turn, drawing and recovering…

"I'll use Milady's Rest Ability on your Athos!" He equipped once again a Lily Brand from his hand to the opponent's Athos. Yoshimitsu was startled by the move. Fortunately, he had in his hand a card that could very well put him out of trouble…

"I'll rest my Gusting Skies to play a Field Addition: Holy Grail!" he said as he slammed on the table that card "When it enters play, it destroys an Armor or Addition of my choice. I choose the Lily Brand."

"Wow!" Nobu was taken aback by his opponent's counter "You've saved your card in the last second!"

"Yeah..." Yoshimitsu replied, letting out a sigh of relief. "I've been really lucky to get this..." Hiniku giggled, amused by the scene, while Kaito just continued watching the duel with his poker face on.

" _Attacking now would be risky..._ " he thought " _He might block with his Athos and destroy mine… I'll give him a turn and hope for the best, something is telling me that it'll pay off..._ " And so, he passed the turn to his opponent.

"I draw and recover." Nobu said, and he gained another Black Silence. He already had a plan on how to use the cards in his hand.

"Now let's see if you can survive this! I rest my Darkness Stone, one of my Black Silences and a Wind Stone of mine to play La Rochelle, Battlefield of Despair!" he said "As long as I have this, any damage I inflict upon you or one of your units will be suffered by another unit of my choice as well! Also, if my Resonators target one of yours, you can't block the attack!" Yoshimitsu got tense " _What a powerful card! I must find a way to play around it!_ " he thought.

"First thing I will do, I'll destroy both of your Elvish Priests!" Yuusha claimed.

"That means you're going to attack one of them with Grimaud..." Yoshimitsu said.

"And the other one will suffer the damage as well because of La Rochelle!" his opponent finished his statement. The Elvish Priest's Defense was lower than Grimaud's buffed attack, so it went down easily, and its twin went to the Graveyard as well.

"And now, I attack you directly with my Athos!" Yuusha stated, but Yoshimitsu could think of a counter rapidly enough.

"I block you with D'Artagnan!" he said. He had understood what his opponent was planning " _By hitting me at full strength with his Athos, Nobu-kun was planning to destroy my Athos with Rochelle's effect. I can't let that happen. Plus, my J-Ruler won't get any damage from this block, because I have..._ "

"I'm not through yet! I chase Holy Grail!" the fair-haired boy continued "All damage that my J-Ruler would get from this block will be prevented!"

"That means…!" Nobu quickly understood that his opponent's counter had spelled his Athos's demise, since D'Artagnan's Attack was higher than Athos' non-buffed Defense.

" _Darn!_ " he thought " _I must build up some adequate defenses. Fortunately, I have some good cards for the job!_ "

"I'll summon Aramis, and with the extra will I gain from its effect, I summon two more Grimauds from my hand!" Without Athos' buff, they had only 200 Attack and Defense, but they could have still been useful in his mind. "With that, I'll end my turn!"

" _They won't be able to stand a chance against his Athos, but they will definitely be able to protect me from the twin Aramis' damage! Also..._ " Once Yoshimitsu had drawn his card and recovered all of his rested cards, Nobu rested his Milady in order to attach a Lily Brand to Yoshimitsu's Athos.

" _This will be the last turn I will have Athos!_ " Yoshimitsu thought " _I have to close this game now! And the card I've just drawn might be just what I need!_ "

" _I have a Silver Bullet in my hand._ " Nobu thought " _If I survive this turn, I'll be able to use it to get my second Athos, and then I'll be able to turn the tables..._ "

"I equip Musketeer's Bayonet to Aramis!" the fair-haired boy claimed, putting the only card in his hand near Aramis. With that Armor equipped, Aramis gained 400 more Attack and Pierce, being more of a powerhouse than ever, with 1300 Attack Points and 900 Defense Points. More than enough to make Yuusha's Resonator wall completely useless and ensure his defeat.

Firstly, he attacked him directly with his Athos. His opponent blocked the attack with Aramis, in order to limit the damage, but he couldn't prevent his Life Points from going down to 1300. Secondly, Yoshimitsu attacked him with his buffed Aramis, and his opponent didn't bother blocking, knowing how useless it would have been, letting the attack take the rest of his Life Points. He sighed in defeat, then, with a radiant smile, said:

"Congratulations, Yoshimitsu-kun! You've won!"

"Wow! Looks like Yoshi has just scored a perfect victory, not losing even one Life Point!" The shop owner commented. "That's awesome, for a first tournament!"

"Nobu-kun, I think you might have won if I hadn't stopped you a few turns back..." Yoshimitsu replied, scratching the back of his head with an embarrassed smile of his own.

"Maybe, but still, your play style is a lot like Echidna's, you know?" Yuusha mused "Especially in the way you handle wills..."

"Really?" Yoshimitsu was surprised by the claim, knowing even less what he should had expected from the aquamarine-haired duelist. He took a glance at him and the lucky fangirl who had faced him. It could be seen that Hiroto had won. His opponent's head was hung in shame and defeat. She had hoped with all her heart that she could have proved herself to her idol and made a good impression on him. Hiroto put on her shoulder a reassuring hand and told her

"Don't worry. Keep training, and I'm sure you'll be able to beat me, one day!"

The girl was surprised by her idol's encouragement, but after not long she returned the smile and nodded vigorously, as the other fangirls silently fawned over him.

" _He's so handsome!_ " This was easily the thought in each and every one of their minds. Hiniku felt her face heat up in rage as she was tempted to smack them all. Both Yoshimitsu and Nobu felt embarrassed by Hiroto's antics, which he seemed to enjoy a little…

"Yeah..." Yuusha said, scratching his head with an awkward smile. Then, he turned back to Yoshimitsu and extended his hand, with a warm smile "Anyway, good luck with your next duels!" he said. The fair-haired boy was taken by surprise by the duelist's gesture, but he complied to it nonetheless.

"Thank you, Yuusha!" he replied, with enthusiasm, as he shook the brown-haired duelist's extended hand.

" _So this is what an official tournament is like..._ " he thought. " _This is only my very first battle in my very first actual competition, yet I'm already having a blast! Maybe the victory I've scored is playing a part in it, but still!_ " He was definitely looking forward to continuing and having a good time. Mizuki turned to her classmate, seeing his excitement, and smiled.

"Congratulations to everyone!" the shop owner announced enthusiastically "Now, if everything's done, let's begin round two!"


	14. Chapter 14: Local Tournament (pt2)

Chapter 14: Local Tournament (pt.2)

After the first round of the tournament, of the four fangirls of Echidna in the competition, only one survived. Her Ruler was Red Riding Hood, and she was about to face Mizuki Takahashi. As she got to the table, the black-haired girl politely bowed.

"I'll give you everything I've got!" the other duelist claimed "I must get to the finals!" In response, she warmly smiled and said:

"I'm looking forward to it! Good luck to both of us!"

Hiniku Kashikoi, who had been observing the tournament alongside Kaito Takahashi, wished with all of herself for the fangirl to be utterly destroyed by Ruka. She was also quite disheartened by seeing Trix, the Jester Cat, which had been **her** Ruler, going down without too much of a fight. That Ruler was being used by one of those fangirl birdbrains, mind you, but still, it was hard for her to see the Ruler she was so attached to since her childhood being defeated…

" _So many cards I've never seen before..._ " she thought. It was crystal clear to her that she had to upgrade her deck if she wanted to stand a chance against such duelists… However, while her confidence was suffering from such a blow, her face remained composed.

" _Hopefully I'll be able to do it without having to discard Trix..._ "

Yoshimitsu Hayashi, instead, was matched up with Hiroto Ueda for the second round of the tournament. Knowing that he was up against a skillful duelist, he was really tense.

"Good luck to both of us, Yoshimitsu-kun." Hiroto said, with an encouraging smile, as he extended his hand for his opponent to shake. The gesture made Yoshimitsu slightly less tense as he shook.

"Thanks, Hiroto-kun." he said, with a nervous smile of his own.

"You've beaten Yuusha without losing a single Life Point..." Echidna noticed, his fingers cupping his chin. "I'm sure you'll give me a good match."

"Well..." Yoshimitsu replied, scratching the back of his head "I was just lucky to get the right cards..."

"Oh, it's not all about luck, my friend!" the aquamarine-haired duelist replied "You showed some skill in using those cards properly!" Yoshimitsu felt embarrassed, but still he was glad to hear those words.

"W-well, thanks..." he replied. Kaito, who had observed the fair-haired duelist's performance, had made himself another idea about him.

" _He does have potential_ " he thought " _But he's far from flawless. He suffers from_ _many_ _hiccups that are common among newbies..._ "

The two duelists, as well as everyone else in the tournament, sorted their cards and put their stacks and their Rulers on the tables. Yoshimitsu was thus able to take a look at Echidna's Ruler

" _Beautiful_ _Maiden_ _in the Snow…_ " The card depicted a bewitching lady, dressed in an azure kimono and sandals, sitting in snow and ice. It took 2 water wills and X generic wills to perform its Judgement. " _X? Does that mean a variable number of wills?_ _Is there some mechanic that ability plays into?_ " Yoshimitsu thought, as he recalled having seen another card with a similar mechanic. Also, it allowed its player to choose among three Stones on top of his deck when gaining Stones and put the two unchosen stones at the bottom of the deck, for massive will control. " _Looks like Hiroto-kun really is a strong duelist..._ "

"Very well." the shop owner called "Duelists, you may start!"

"I'll go first." Echidna said "I'll rest my Ruler in order to gain one of three Stones." The aquamarine-haired duelist picked the first three cards of his Magic Stone Deck, picked one of them and showed it to his opponent, while putting the remaining two at the bottom of his stack "I picked a Water Stone. Then, I'll use it to summon Familiar of the Ice Maiden." That card, representing an icy butterfly, had 300 Attack and Defense Points and two peculiar abilities. Firstly, as long as its player's Ruler was Beautiful Maiden in the Snow, or his J-Ruler was Yuki-Onna, the Frigid Beauty, it could be rested in order to produce Water will. Secondly, whenever Yuki-Onna was in the Field, it gained 300 more Attack and Defense as well as Flying.

" _Wow!_ " Yoshimitsu thought, bewildered by this card he had never seen before and by its striking resemblance, in terms of effects, to his own Elvish Priest " _Nobu-kun was right when he had said that Hiroto-kun plays like me!_ "

"My turn is done." Hiroto said, and Yoshimitsu began his turn, drawing his first card and gaining his first Wind Stone.

" _This is my first turn..._ " he thought " _Right now I can only mirror his play..._ "

"For my turn, I'll play my Elvish Priest." he said, before passing the initiative to his opponent. Hopefully, it would have managed to give him some wills for the first turns…

Echidna drew his card and gained another Water Stone, then, after resting his Familiar of the Ice Lady for another copy, he used his two Stones right away.

"I play Snow White Tiger!" he said while slamming on the table a card depicting a white tiger. It costed 2 Water Wills and had 500 Attack and Defense. Whenever an Armor was attached to it, it allowed its player to draw an extra card.

"With that, I'll end my turn." he said. Yoshimitsu started his turn, drawing his card and recovering his Stone. The card he had just drawn could give him an extra turn. He didn't know what his opponent was planning, but he knew for sure that he could use an extra turn. He then gained a Gusting Skies and proceeded to make his move.

"I'll rest my Elvish Priest to play another copy, and it's your move!" He already had a plan for the next turn. Echidna drew and recovered, but, just as he had gained another Water Stone, Yoshimitsu pulled off his trick.

"I play Law of Silence!" he said "For this turn, you won't be able to play any cards!" Hiroto was prevented from using his hand, but there was still one thing he could do.

"I attack you with the White Tiger I had summoned in my previous turn." he said. After thinking about it, Yoshimitsu decided not to block, since he thought he might have needed the extra wills in the next turns. With that, his Life Points went down to 3500.

"Your move, Yoshimitsu-kun!" he said, with a bright smile, as he passed the turn to his opponent. He drew and recovered, then he rested his Ruler for a second Wind Stone.

"I'll rest my three Stones to summon from my hand Athos of the Three Musketeers!" he said, equipping it with a Musketeer's Bayonet from his Deck because of its effect "Then I rest my two Elvish Priests in order to lay one card face-down!" Since there was nothing more he could do, he ended his turn there. After drawing and recovering, Echidna gained a fourth Water Stone and pulled off a combo.

"First, I'll rest my two Familiars to equip an Armor to my White Tiger: Ivory Fangs!" he proclaimed, slamming a card depicting a pair of sharp fangs near his monster "The Resonator this card is attached to gains 300 Attack and Defense as well as First Strike!"

" _That means it can take on Athos!_ " Yoshimitsu thought " _And I can't de_ _s_ _troy it by blocking damage, either._ _Not to mention the card bonus!_ ". He felt it couldn't get any worse for him, but his opponent wasted no time in proving him wrong.

"Then, I use my remaining 4 Stones to summon a Swordswoman of the Full Moon!" he said, putting into the Field a monster bearing 900 Attack and Defense, as well as Flying. "It bounces a Resonator of my choice back to the owner's hand upon entrance. I choose your Athos!" The fair-haired duelist was thus forced to put his Resonator back in his hand.

"I attack you directly with my buffed White Tiger!" Echidna proclaimed, resting his monster.

"I block with Elvish Priest!" Yoshimitsu replied. " _I can't allow myself to take damage now, since it might get worse in the next turns! I can allow myself to lose just an extra will, by this point..."_ That was the thought behind his move. With 400 Defense, the Wind will bringer stood no chance against the Water basic attacker, even without the buff. And its 100 Attack didn't leave any chance for a blocking damage strategy anyway.

" _Echidna has put Yoshimitsu-kun in a pinch!_ " Nobu thought, observing the duel with Hiniku, Kaito, and the girls " _What will he do to get himself out of trouble, I wonder..._ ".

"Wow! He's got the upper hand!" One of the fangirls commented, excited.

"There's no questioning it, Echidna-sama is the best!" another one said. The comments made both Mizuki and her opponent turn their eyes towards Hiroto and Yoshimitsu's table, seeing how the two duelists were going.

"Oohh, my hero!~" the fangirl gasped, wishing with all of her being to make it to him. Ruka, on the other hand, looked at her schoolmate and his cards. Hiniku and Kaito were watching him as well, even though Hiniku was increasingly bothered by those birdbrains' fawning over their idol.

Meanwhile, with Hiroto's turn finished, Yoshimitsu started his own turn, drawing, recovering, and resting his Ruler for his second Gusting Skies.

" _In the state I'm in right now, I should focus on defense before anything else..._ " he thought. There definitely was something he could do, with the cards he had in his hand.

"I'll rest a Gusting Skies, a Wind Stone and my Elvish Priest to summon Athos from my hand!" he said. As his strongest Resonator entered the field once again. However, this time, he chose a different weapon to equip him with. "I'll equip a Silver Stake to him." That card, which normally costed a single Light will, buffed the strongest of the Musketeers, giving him a bonus of 400 Attack and Defense Points, as well as Barrier against Vampire cards, but not granting him Pierce, unlike the Bayonet."Then I'll rest my remaining Stones to summon Aramis of the Three Musketeer, and, thanks to his effect, I'm able to summon from my hand Porthos of the Three Musketeers as well!" He had managed to summon his trademark trio, creating a decent defensive wall. With that, he passed his turn to the opponent.

However, Hiroto had another trick up his sleeve. After drawing his card and recovering, he didn't rest his Ruler for a Magic Stone. It was clear to see he was planning to perform Judgement. And Yoshimitsu's expectations were confirmed in mere moments.

"I'll rest all of my Stones and both of my Familiars to perform my Ruler's Judgement!" he proclaimed as he flipped his main card. "Queen of the Winter, take your snowy throne! Behold, Yuki-Onna, the Frigid Beauty!"

"Ooohh! Ueda-kun's getting serious!" the fangirls shouted. Yoshimitsu, on the other hand, was incredibly tense, knowing that things were definitely going to take a bad turn for him. The beautiful maiden now had an ice spear in her hands. It had 1100 Attack and Defense, and a fearsome effect.

"When Yuki-Onna enters the field as a J-Ruler, I'll rest as many Resonators as the number of generic wills paid for her Judgement." Echidna explained "And they'll be unable to recover as long as it is on the Field."

" _Oh no!_ " Yoshimitsu thought, quickly understanding his opponent's plan. " _He had pai_ _d enough wills to target all of my monsters!_ _I can't use any of them!_ " However, a weakness didn't escape his sight.

"But, if it is destroyed, any Familiar of the Ice Maiden you have on your field will go to the Graveyard as well!" he remarked, making both Nobu and Hiniku smile.

"That's a chance I'm willing to take." Hiroto nonchalantly replied, making his fangirls erupt in more fawns and sighs and the short blonde girl sitting on the sidelines grunt lightly. "As I'm willing to take the chance to attack you, since you are unable to block!" He attacked with his Swordswoman first, reducing the fair-haired boy's Life Points to 2600, then he attacked with his buffed White Tiger, and his opponent's Life Points went down to 1800. "Your move, Yoshimitsu-kun." he concluded, with a smirk.

" _I can't afford to lose any more Life Points..._ " Yoshimitsu thought. " _I must destroy his J-Ruler before he gets to attack with it. And I might just have the way to do it._ " With these thoughts, he started his turn, drawing and recovering, then he rested his Ruler, gaining a Light Stone.

"Now that I have 5 Stones, I can activate my face-down card!" he proclaimed. "Siege Warfare! Since I have all of the Three Musketeers on my side of the field, I can destroy a Resonator or J-Ruler of my choice. I choose Yuki-Onna!" His opponent flipped his hero card back to the Ruler side and put it in front of him, away from the Field. Yoshimitsu blinked in slight surprise. Truth be told, he had never defeated a J-Ruler before, and he hadn't seen one destroyed either, so he had always wondered what happened when a J-Ruler was defeated, since it was clearly too important of a card to go to the Graveyard.

"My J-Ruler is beaten, but I can still use its Ruler abilities and rest it for Stones." Hiroto explained, almost as if he had understood his opponent's doubts. The fair-haired boy was surprised by the uncalled explanation, but he shortly recovered.

" _I've managed to use that comeback, sometimes..._ " Nobu thought, while observing the duel " _But_ _it didn't work against him. H_ _e always had a way to retaliate,_ _by then_ _..._ "

" _He'll definitely be aiming at my Athos..._ " Yoshimitsu thought " _I must prepare myself, and power him down_ _as soon as I can_ _..._ "

"I'll play Aesop, the Prince's Tutor!" he said "Now you won't be able to use any effects on my Musketeers!" With that, he passed the turn to his opponent, who started his turn drawing, recovering and gaining a Water Stone.

"I'll use Law of Silence!" Yoshimitsu claimed. He knew he had to stall his opponent if he wanted to stand a chance. He had another one in his hand, so he could definitely do it.

" _Darn..._ " Hiroto thought. " _It'll definitely make things harder. I could aim for his Athos, but I would let myself open… It's best to see what's he planning, for now..._ "

"I'll pass." he said, without making a move.

" _He's planning to try and block me..._ " Yoshimitsu thought, while he started his turn.. " _I must buff my units! That way, he won't have a way to beat my Athos anymore!_ " He decided not to rest his Ruler for a Stone. He still had a will pool of 6, with an Elvish Priest on his side of the field.

"I play Silver Bullet" he said, resting a Light and a Wind Stone "With it, I search for a Wind Resonator in my Deck and put it in my hand!" He searched in his Deck and revealed the new monster: his second Athos.

"Then I summon Aramis of the Three Musketeers, and I can summon my Athos as well without paying any will because of his effect!" he said, resting a Gusting Skies and a Wind Stone, and slamming the two cards on the table. Then, he equipped it with its favourite addition: a Musketeer's Bayonet straight from the deck, which gave it a 400 Attack buff as well as Pierce. However, after that play, the fair-haired duelist wasn't finished yet.

"Then, I'll perform my Ruler's Judgement, paying no will." he said, flipping his Ruler and revealing its J-Ruler side "All for one and one for all! Enter the battlefield, D'Artagnan, the Bayoneteer!" His J-Ruler entered the field with his 1000 Attack, his 800 Defense, his Pierce ability and his buff of 400 Attack and Defense to all of Yoshimitsu's Musketeers. In particular, his first Athos was more powerful than ever, with 1600 Attack and Defense.

" _Wow! His Laws of Silence put him in a position of advantage!_ " Nobu noticed while observing the duelist using his same Ruler. " _He might actually beat Echidna!_ "

"And now, I'm the one who's taking the chance to attack!" The fair-haired boy proclaimed "First, I'll attack you with my first Athos!"

"I'll block with my Swordswoman!" This time, the powerful bunny-eared warrior, who had represented a major threat against the strongest of the Musketeers until that turn, stood no chance against Yoshimitsu's most powerful monster, however it did protect Hiroto from damage.

"Then, I'll attack you with my first Aramis!" Yoshimitsu said, resting his monster.

"I'll block you with my Tiger!" he said. The Snow White Tiger was 100 Points behind its enemy, so it went down. However, Echidna had managed to protect his Life Points once again.

"Lastly, I'll attack with my Porthos!" The fair-haired boy said, and so, for the first time since the beginning of the duel, Hiroto's Life Points went down to 2900. The fangirls of the aquamarine-haired boy were now holding their breath, seeing their idol being the one on the defensive.

"Oh no! Ueda-kun is in trouble!" One of them commented, her expression full of fright. Another one glared at the fair-haired boy, who noticed her and gulped in fear.

"Please ignore them and continue." Hiroto told him as calmly as ever, and the fangirls stood silent. He had never been more embarrassed with his fangirls until then, since he was enjoying the duel very much. Yoshimitsu eventually recomposed himself and replied.

"O-Ok then, your move now." he said. The aquamarine-haired duelist drew and recovered.

" _I must weaken him..._ " he thought, while gaining a Water Stone " _He has actually managed to turn his wall into a platoon! I need to bounce his tanks back to his hand..._ " Unfortunately, his opponent wasn't going to let him execute his strategy.

"I'll play my third Law of Silence!" Yoshimitsu claimed, resting his last two will producers and playing the last card in his hand. That move deprived Hiroto of his chances of turning the duel back in his favor, leaving him wide open. The fangirls gasped in horror at their idol's impending fate. After a moment of surprise and utter shock, the duelist recomposed himself.

"I'll pass..." he said, with his usual calm, faintly smiling at his defeat. Yoshimitsu drew a lonely card and recovered, not resting his J-Ruler for a Stone, willing to take his chance.

" _Now or never!_ " he thought.

"First, I'll attack you with my buffed Athos!" he said, resting his strongest monster. Hiroto's Life Points went down to 1300. "Then, I'll attack you with my first Aramis!" He was down to 400 Life Points. At that point, the inevitability of his defeat was clear. Echidna slightly bowed his head in resignation, with a faint smile still on his face, his eyes peacefully closed.

"Echidna-sama!" one of the aquamarine-haired duelist's fangirls cried, having realized it.

"Lastly, I'll attack you with my Porthos!" Yoshimitsu finally said, the attack spelling the end of the match and the fair-haired boy's victory.

" _Wow!_ " Nobu thought, their performance had left him speechless. " _With those Laws of Silences of his, he actually managed to turn the tables!_ "

"This one was definitely harder than the previous one for Yoshi..." the shop owner commented, his voice filled with excitement, "but he has managed to get past the tricks of Echidna!" Yoshimitsu was lightly panting, since he had his focus only on the table for the duration of the duel against an opponent who was constantly keeping him alert.

" _Whew_ … _He almost had me… I had kept mw Laws of Silence safe, and they saved me in the end!_ " he was thinking, when he noticed his opponent was reaching a hand out to him. He quickly stiffened, until the hand reached his shoulder and patted it.

"You really are something, Yoshimitsu-kun!" Hiroto commented, smiling brightly. "It's hard to believe you're new at this game."

"Ummm..." Yoshimitsu was embarrassed by the duelist's compliment, but he managed to reply "I just looked at all of the strategies I could use with this deck before I came..."

"I see. How clever of you!" Hiroto finally said. Kaito, who had observing the duel, slightly nodded

" _This time, his play was clever, indeed._ " he thought " _He had kept the most useful cards safe in his hand..._ " Hiniku was smiling in seeing her schoolmate's victory over the annoying aquamarine-haired spotlight hog.

" _Suck it, asshole! You've met your match!_ " she thought. Her joy was short lived, however, because the swarm of brainless fangirls continued fawning over him, despite his defeat.

"Look at him!" one of them commented "He tanks his defeats like a boss!"

"Oh, Echidna-sama!~" another one dreamily murmured, her hands clasped together "You're simply amazing!~" Hiniku felt like those idolatrous words endlessly flowing from their mouths could make her sick, and voiced her annoyance in a grunt. Mizuki, instead, walked towards the fair-haired victor.

"Well done, Yoshimitsu-kun!" she said. "You're really good!" Her compliments made the youth blush brightly.

"W-well thanks, Mizuki-san!" he replied.

"Now we'll have to face each other for the first place in this tournament." she said, looking at him with a bright light shining in her eyes. "I should warn you, I'm quite good, as well!" Yoshimitsu was caught by surprise by the girl's bold claim, however, he nodded, taking it in.

"We're both good, so let's have a good time, shall we?" she said, enthusiastically, blinking at him. Yoshimitsu couldn't help but reply to her enthusiasm in kind, nodding vigorously and agreeing with her.

"Yes, let's!"


	15. Chapter 15: Rising Stars

Chapter 15: Rising Stars

"Well then." the shop owner announced "We're about to get it on with the final round of this tournament, which will have Yoshimitsu Hayashi facing off against Mizuki Takahashi. Yoshi versus Ruka!" The two duelists walked at the table, facing each other, with Hiniku, Kaito and the other duelists in the shop watching them.

"I've managed to learn how to use this deck properly." Yoshimitsu said "I hope I'll be able to give you a good match with this..."

"I'm sure it'll be fun!" Mizuki replied, with a warm smile "Show me what you can do, Yoshimitsu-kun!"

"I will!" Her opponent nodded, smiling back. They then sorted their cards and put their stacks and their Rulers on the table.

" _I've heard about that Ruler before..._ " the fair-haired boy thought as he saw Mizuki's Ruler, Nameless Girl, a Ruler with a Judgement cost of 4 wills, of which 1 had to be Fire and 1 had to be Water, but which dropped to zero if a Human from its player's side of the field was moved to the graveyard in any way. " _They've called it "the Human Killer", but I don't know it enough to tell why. My deck doesn't have many Humans in it, but still, I'll have to be careful and look at it closely..._ " For Hiniku, it was yet another new Ruler, but for Kaito, it was her sister's Ruler, and he knew it like it was his.

" _His Ruler is really strong!_ " the raven-haired girl thought, seeing Yoshimitsu's Puss in Boots " _And so are his monsters, which work well with it… I'll have to be wary._ "

"Good luck to both of us!" they both said at the same time, bowing to each other respectfully.

"Duelists, you may start!" the shop owner announced.

"I'll go first." Mizuki took the first turn. Yoshimitsu simply nodded in acceptance as both of them drew 5 cards. She then rested her Ruler, gaining a Special Stone which could produce both Fire and Water will. It was a Stone of Hearth's Core.

"I was hoping to get this!" Mizuki sighed in relief, before proceeding to make her first move "I'll use it right away to summon from my hand Hunter in Black Forest!" It was a monster with 300 Attack and Defense Points as well as Swiftness, which meant that she could use it to attack him right away. However, she decided not to.

"It's your move." she said. Accepting her decision, he drew his card and rested his Ruler for a Wind Stone. He rested it right away.

"I summon an Elvish Priest!" he said. That was his usual game start, and with that he ended his turn. Ruka started her own turn, drawing her card, then she turned her Ruler to gain a Water Stone.

"I'll play a Chant from my hand." she said, before taking a card from her hand and revealing it. It was Inquisition, a Chant costing only one Water will, which allowed its player to destroy an enemy Resonator, as long as he rested two of his own Resonators. But, if the player's Ruler was Nameless Girl, the rest cost dropped to only one.

" _She's aiming to my Elvish Priest!_ " Yoshimitsu tensed up, quickly understanding his opponent's plan. Mizuki rested her only monster and pointed at the fair-haired boy's will producer, just as he had expected. He couldn't do anything but put it in his Graveyard.

" _If I didn't have that card in my hand, he would have an advantage in terms of will pool..._ " Mizuki thought. " _This card is extremely useful in early game..._ "

" _If I had two monsters other than the target, that card would have allowed me to rest them and destroy her monster..._ " Yoshimitsu thought. " _Mizuki-san couldn't choose a better time to play it..._ "

"With that, my turn's finished." Mizuki claimed, passing the turn to her opponent.

" _She's pretty good!_ " Hiniku thought while watching the duel, impressed by the move Ruka had pulled off. Kaito was watching as well, but his expression betrayed no emotion.

"I draw and recover." Yoshimitsu claimed, then he rested his Ruler, gaining a second Wind Stone. Yoshimitsu sighed in relief, since that was just what he needed.

"I'll rest both of my Stones to summon Porthos of the Three Musketeers!" he claimed, slamming on the table his card.

" _Should she try to attack with her monster, I'll block with mine. Not only the Hunter will be destroyed, but she'll get damage from Pierce, as well._ " With that strategy in mind, he ended his turn.

"Your move, Mizuki-san." he said. She started her turn, drawing and recovering her cards. Se rested her Ruler and gained a second Water Stone. She already had a strategy in mind.

"First, I'll rest both of my Water Stones to summon One-Inch Boy!" she said. That Resonator, costing 1 Water will and 1 generic will, had 100 Attack and 300 Defense, but it also had a fearsome ability which more than made up for those low points: whenever another Resonator inflicted damage on it, it would have been destroyed, regardless of its strength.

" _That monster..._ " Yoshimitsu quickly realized what he was up against " _I can't attack her without risking to lose one of mine as long as that's on the Field..._ "

"Then, I'll rest my Hearth's Core to summon a second Hunter in Black Forest!" she said, as she put on the table a second swift attacker.

" _She's not going to attack with either of her Hunters._ " Yoshimitsu thought " _It would leave her exposed to my Porthos' Pierce. If she tried focusing fire on my rested Porthos in order to destroy it,_ _it would make things even worse for her_ _..._ "

"My turn is done." Mizuki said, just as Yoshimitsu had expected. The fair-haired boy then started his own turn, drawing and recovering.

" _She's being careful with how she uses her cards..._ " he thought " _I'll have to do the same and avoid missteps._ " He rested his ruler, gaining a Stone of Gusting Skies.

"I'll summon another Elvish Priest." he said, and his will-producing Resonator was in play once again. He ended his turn with that, which was a clear hint of something brewing up. In fact, after Ruka started her turn and rested her Ruler, gaining a Fire Stone, his trap went off.

"I'll rest my two remaining Stones to play a Law of Silence!" he said, preventing his opponent to play any other Resonator or Chant for the duration of her turn.

" _I'll still be on the defensive, for now..._ " she rethought her strategy. " _I'll need to keep my One-Inch Boy ready for blocking, else he'll take the chance to attack me!_ "

"I'll pass this turn." she said, prompting the fair-haired boy to draw and recover.

" _I can't attack as long as that thing can block..._ " he thought. " _I'll have to focus on creating a wall, for now..._ "

He rested his Ruler, gaining a Light Stone. With his Elvish Priest, he had a will pool of 5, and he took full advantage of it.

"First, I'll summon Aramis of the Three Musketeers!" he said, resting his Elvish Priest and one of his Wind Stones. "Then, with his effect, I'll pay 2 wills less to summon Athos of the Three Musketeers!" He added, resting his Light Stone to fill up the 1 will void, then, with its ability, he equipped it with a Silver Stake, boosting its stats to 1200. He had managed to assemble the trademark trio of his deck. But he knew that wasn't enough to break the stasis and gain the upper hand…

"I'll rest my Gusting Skies and my remaining Wind Stone to lay a card face-down!" he said. The beginnings of a plan were taking form in his mind.

" _I'll destroy that One-Inch Boy on my next turn!_ " he thought " _It would be too risky to do it during her turn..._ " With that strategy in mind, he handed the turn to Ruka, who quickly drew and recovered.

" _You seem to be preparing a plan_ _, Yoshimitsu-kun!_ " Mizuki thought about her opponent, a smile making its way on her face " _You sure know how to use your cards!_ " She rested her Ruler and gained a second Hearth's Core. " _It would be too risky to use an Inquisition right now, since he now has four Resonators on his side of the Field..._ "

"I'll summon Charles VII!" she said, resting her Water Stone, a Fire Stone and a Hearth's Core before putting said card on the table. It was a Resonator with 600 Attack and Defense points, which could either enable to draw extra cards or bounce the opponent's cards back in his hand by paying wills and banishing Humans…

" _Looks like her deck is built around Humans banishing..._ " Yoshimitsu noticed.

"Then I'll summon another One-Inch Boy!" she said, resting her two remaining Stones. Yoshimitsu was greatly surprised by the move.

" _Another one?!_ " he thought " _I'll never be able to attack, at this rate! My card can only target one of her monsters..._ "

" _I could attack..._ " Mizuki thought " _But_ _I might leave myself wide open_ _… Better safe than sorry._ " With this thought in mind, she passed the turn to her opponent, who drew and recovered. His eyes widened in seeing a card entering in his hand.

" _With this, I could..._ " Yoshimitsu thought " _It's a daring strategy, but it might just work!_ " He rested his Ruler, gaining a second Light Stone. " _First things first..._ "

"Since I control all of the Three Musketeers, I can activate my face-down chant Siege Warfare, and destroy one of your One-Inch Boys with it!" Yoshimitsu proclaimed. The monster went straight to the graveyard.

"Then, I'll attack you directly with my Porthos!" he continued.

"Yoshimitsu-kun, I still have a One-Inch Boy on my side of the Field..." Mizuki reminded "Are you sure to attack?"

"Yes." the fair-haired boy answered, without a second thought. The Musketeer was blocked by the One-Inch Boy and destroyed as a consequence, but it had taken down the little Fairy Tale monster with it, and had managed to take Ruka's Life Points down to 3600.

"Now, I'll summon another Porthos from my hand!" he said, resting a Wind Stone and a Gusting Skies. Mizuki was taken by surprise by her opponent's maneuver.

" _He had another one in his hand?_ " she thought " _Of course! If he hadn't, he_ _most likely_ _wouldn't have attacked with the previous one..._ " A smile made its way on her face.

"Lastly, I'll summon Aesop, the Prince's Tutor!" he said, resting his two Light Stones "As long as this is on the Field, you won't be able to target my Fairy Tales with your Chants or your effects."

"Excellent play, Yoshimitsu-kun!" Mizuki couldn't help but compliment his opponent. In response, a slight blush appeared on his face.

"U-Um, thanks, Mizuki-san..." he replied, a bit shyly. Then, he regained his composure and said "It's your move now." Ruka drew her card and recovered, then rested her Ruler, gaining a second Fire Stone.

"I play Purifying Fire!" she said, resting her two Fire Stones "I inflict 700 damage directly to your Life Points and 1000 Damage to your Aesop, the only Human you have on your side of the Field!

" _What a fearsome card!_ " Yoshimitsu thought, tensing up as he put his monster in his Graveyard " _She could use both of its options, since her Ruler was Nameless Girl. Mizuki-san, your cards work perfectly with each other!_ " Now he was at 3300 Life Points.

"Then, I'll summon a Moon Night Pouncer from my hand!" she proclaimed, resting one of her Hearth's Cores and one of her Water Stones.

" _She has that, too?_ " the fair-haired boy thought, taken by surprise by her move " _So she doesn't have only Humans in her deck..._ "

"I'll use Charles's effect, paying 1 will and banishing one of my Hunters to send a Resonator of yours back to your hand." she continued, resting her last Water Will "Without Aesop on your side of the Field, your Fairy Tales can be targeted, so nothing stops me from choosing your Athos!" Yoshimitsu quickly understood the threat that move could pose: his strongest card had just been ejected from the Field.

"Lastly, I'll use my Thunder on your Elvish Priest!" she said, resting her last Fire Will. The chant inflicted 500 damage to the Wind will producer, putting it to rest.

"Your move, Yoshimitsu-kun!" she said, with a smile, prompting her opponent to start his turn. He drew and recovered, but decided not to rest his Ruler for a Stone, signaling that he wanted to perform Judgement.

"I'll summon Athos back to the Field!" he proclaimed, resting his Light Stone and his two Wind Stones. He equipped him with a Musketeer's Bayonet, which boosted his Attack and granted him Pierce.

"Then, since I have all three of the Musketeers on my side of the Field, I can perform Judgement without paying any will!" he said, flipping his Ruler card "All for one and one for all! Enter the fray, D'Artagnan the Bayoneteer!" His J-Ruler entered the Field with his 1000 Attack Points and 800 Defense Points, buffing the three Musketeers.

" _He has managed to call his J-Ruler and power up his trademark cards..._ " Mizuki observed.

"With that, I'll end my turn..." he said, prompting his opponent to start her own turn, drawing and recovering. Then, she rested her Ruler and gained a Water Stone. She had only two cards in her hand, and she was going to use both of them.

"First, I'll summon a second Moon Night Pouncer!" she said, resting a Fire Stone and a Water Stone. Another werewolf was placed on Ruka's side of the Field.

"Then, I'll summon Commander of Wolves!" she continued, resting her last Fire Stone, her two Hearth's Cores and another Water Stone. "Once it enters the Field, it inflicts 400 damage for every Werewolf I control to a Resonator of my choice. I choose your Athos!" With 3 Werewolves on her side of the Field, the damage inflicted to Athos was 1200, which meant its destruction. Yoshimitsu was slack-jawed as he realized it.

"Lastly, I'll banish my last Hunter to bounce your Porthos back to your hand!" she said, resting her last Water Stone.

" _Amazing!_ " Yoshimitsu thought, as his Musketeers left the field " _If she had bounced Aramis, I would have regained my Athos rather easily, and she knew that. My wall is broken now..._ "

" _Mizuki-san is_ _keeping the piglet on his toes!_ " Hiniku thought, watching Ruka's moves.

"My turn's done." Mizuki said.

"It was an awesome turn, Mizuki-san!" the fair-haired boy couldn't help but compliment her, while drawing his card and recovering.

"Thank you, Yoshimitsu-kun..." she replied, with a warm smile and a slight blush. Yoshimitsu nodded, blushing as well, and then looked at his hand.

" _Since Puss in Boots has performed Judgement, I no longer can pay less for playing Musketeers..._ " he thought. " _I'm in a pinch..._ " He had to play with what he had in his hand. First off, he rested D'Artagnan for will production, gaining a second Gusting Skies. " _It's a risky move, but I have no choice, given the situation I'm in..._ "

"First, I'm playing Porthos back in the Field!" he proclaimed, as he rested a Light Stone and his two Wind Stones. The Musketeer returned in play buffed by D'Artagnan from the get-go, something that he could still take advantage of.

"Then, I play Silver Bullet!" To play the Chant, he rested a Gusting Skies and his other Light Stone. "I search for Athos from my deck and put it in my hand." He knew that it had given away the next part of his strategy, but he had to try. Besides, it didn't look like she could effectively counter him, but he knew that he had to stay alert.

"Your turn, Mizuki-san." he said. Her opponent drew and recovered. She looked at the card she had just drawn and then her eyes moved back to the Field. It seemed like she had an idea. She didn't rest her Ruler for Stones, which was a clear indication that she was planning to perform Judgement as well.

"I play Voice of the False God!" she proclaimed. "By banishing a Resonator of mine, I'll be able to draw 2 cards. If the Resonator banished this way is a Human, I'll draw 3 cards instead. I'll banish Charles VII!" By banishing her Human banisher, Ruka had managed to get herself a good hand.

"Since a Human has been sent to the Graveyard in this turn, I can perform my Ruler's Judgement without paying any will at all." she continued. "Descend into the battlefield and deliver your Lord's furious judgement upon your foes! Come forth, Jeanne d'Arc, the Flame of Hatred!" The Nameless Girl's J-Ruler form boasted 1200 Attack and Defense Points, which made it stronger than Yoshimitsu's J-Ruler. It could also be rested for preventing the damage inflicted to a Human until the end of the turn, and could inflict 500 damage to a Human Resonator at the cost of a Fire will and a generic will. Lastly, it destroyed every Human Resonator on the Field upon entrance, but it didn't matter at the moment, since Mizuki had sacrificed her last Human on the Field for Jeanne d'Arc's summon.

" _That J-Ruler..._ " Yoshimitsu thought, tensing up " _It really is the Human Killer! And it can pack quite a punch against anything else as well!_ "

"Then, I play Bloody Moon!" she said. "All of my Werewolves get a buff of 200, both in Attack and in Defense!" That move was meant to power up her new attackers, making them more threatening.

"Lastly, I'll summon One-Inch Boy!" she concluded, placing on the table her most prized deterrent. Yoshimitsu knew he was in a very bad position.

" _Jeanne d'Arc can prevent damage inflicted to Mizuki's Humans! She can directly hunt down my monsters without the risk of losing her deterrent!_ "

"My turn's finished." she said, prompting her opponent to draw and recover. His hand was full of Musketeers.

" _If I still had Puss in Boots' will discount, I could take advantage of my hand right now..._ " he thought. " _This is the only thing I can do..._ "

"I summon Athos, of the Three Musketeers, and equip it with a Silver Stake from my deck!" The strongest of the Musketeers entered the Field with 1600 Attack and Defense. A viable knight he could count on. He decided to end his turn with that, in order not to leave himself open to Ruka's attack. As soon as he finished, Mizuki drew and recovered.

"I'll play Voice of the False God on my One-Inch Boy!" she then proclaimed, sending her Human to the Graveyard and drawing three more cards. Yoshimitsu wondered what she was up to, and so were the spectators watching their duel.

"Then, I'll play Commander of Wolves!" Ruka continued "And inflict its entrance damage on your Athos!" With 4 Werewolves, including the newly summoned Commander, on her side of the Field, the resulting damage was of 1600, just enough to destroy the buffed Musketeer. The fair-haired boy was speechless, completely taken by surprise by the move.

"I'm not done yet!" Mizuki said. "I'll play Inquisition, resting one of my Moon Night Pouncers to destroy your Aramis!" Since Yoshimitsu had only one other monster on his side of the Field, he couldn't fire a bullet back. Ruka ended her turn with that, avoiding to rest other Resonators.

" _She destroyed both of my Athos..._ " the fair-haired boy thought, as he drew and recovered. " _This is not going well… I must find a way to get back on my feet. I can still count on D'Artagnan's buff..._ "

"I'll summon Aramis of the Three Musketeers from my hand!" he proclaimed, slamming down on the table another copy of the wise Musketeer "Thanks to its effect, I can pay only 1 more will for summoning a second Porthos!" He had managed to take advantage of his hand, for how little he could.

"Lastly, I'll summon Aesop, the King's Tutor!" he said. He planned to make use of its Fairy Tale Barrier-granting ability.

"My turn's done." he said, prompting Mizuki to draw and recover. Then, she began using her cards.

"I'll play Purifying Flame!" she proclaimed "I'll destroy your Aesop and inflict damage to you directly!" Yoshimitsu's Life Points were brought down to 2600.

"Then, I'll play Inquisition!" she said. "I'll rest one of my Moon Night Pouncers to destroy your Porthos!" Yoshimitsu could just rest his two monsters to destroy one of hers, but he knew that this move would have left him wide open to a smashing retaliation. However, Ruka still had a card in her hand.

"I'll play another Inquisition!" she said "I'll rest my other Moon Night Pouncer and destroy your other Porthos!" The only monster Yoshimitsu had left on his side of the Field was Aramis.

"Then, I'll attack you with both of my Commanders!" she proclaimed.

" _I can withstand that._ " Yoshimisu thought. " _If I block now, I won't get any damage, but I'll lose both D'Artagnan and Aramis, and I'll be left wide open to their attacks,_ _not to mention that she still has Jeanne D'Arc recovered. She's most likely planning to keep it ready for blocking_ _..._ " He had to think hard about it, and then he finally decided.

"I won't block." he said. His Life Points went down to 400 from the Commanders' attack, after which Mizuki closed her turn.

"Your move, Yoshimitsu-kun!" Just as the fair-haired boy had expected, she hadn't used her Ruler. He drew and recovered.

" _I must fill up my side of the Field._ " he thought " _Right now, I must keep myself on the defensive and try to create a decent wall..."_

"I'll summon Aramis of the Three Musketeers." he finally proclaimed "And I'll summon Porthos of the Three Musketeers with a will discount thanks to its effect!" He had managed to bring two of the three destroyed Resonators back on the Field. He decided not to attack, since any misstep could mean certain loss.

" _Thanks to D'Artagnan's buff, my Musketeers are stronger than Mizuki-san's attackers. If she tries to attack, she'll lose her monsters..._ " With this plan in mind, he gave a turn to his opponent.

Ruka drew and recovered, then she played her card.

"Purifying Flame!" she proclaimed, slamming her Chant on the table "I don't have to use both of its options when I play it; I can use only one of its effects, and that's what I'll do, inflicting you 700 direct damage!" That card spelt the destruction of Yoshimitsu's strategy, the end of the game, and Ruka's victory.

" _It looked like Mizuki-san was keeping that card concealed in her hand, waiting for the right time for using it..._ " Hiniku thought " _Even with his Laws of Silence, I doubt that the piglet would have been able to win this duel..._ ". Yoshimitsu was surprised by his loss, but he became shocked when the raven-haired girl held out her hand for him.

"Well done, Yoshimitsu-kun!" she said, smiling warmly "It was a wonderful duel!" Eventually, the fair-haired boy shook her hand and smiled back.

"Yeah, it was! You're a really good duelist, Mizuki-san!" he replied.

"Wow, this was some tournament right here, people!" the shop owner announced enthusiastically "Today, we've witnessed the ascent of two rising stars! Come on, everyone! Give a round of applause for both of these two promising young players!" Everyone began clapping their hands, as a sign of appreciation for Yoshimitsu and Mizuki. Both of them showed all their gratitude bowing repeatedly, with a slight blush.

"Thank you! Thank you all so much!" they both said.

"But in the end, only one shone the brightest. Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of today's tournament is Mizuki Takahashi!" Everyone gave one more round of applause for the girl, this time, Yoshimitsu clapped as well, congratulating her once more. Mizuki's blush became wider as she thanked everyone from the bottom of her heart.

"I-I simply don.t know what to say! Thank you!"

"Well, you've won, Mizuki-san!" Yoshimitsu said, smiling "You deserve it!"

"Well done, Ruka! Keep swimming, dolphin!" the shop owner said "Now, you and Yoshimitsu come here at the desk and collect your prizes!"

" _Official tournaments are awesome!_ " Yoshimitsu thought to himself " _I should definitely make an effort to check out for more!_ " Sure, he was stopped before he could reach the top, but he wasn't thinking about that. His mind was set to greater heights, to the people he had met while reaching that tournament, and to those that he will meet. However, he was drawn out of his thoughts by the voice of the shop owner.

"Say, Yoshi." he asked "Have you thought about your duel name while you were on this ride?" The fair-haired boy's reply came quite quickly.

"Well, I have one in mind… It almost felt like flying, and it's a feeling I want to keep experiencing. From now on, I'll be Taka, the Eagle!"

"That's the spirit!" the shop owner enthusiastically cheered "Never forget that feeling, because it will bring you to the top!" Yoshimitsu nodded in response.

"I think that name fits you!" Mizuki smiled warmly "I can't wait to see how high you'll fly, Taka!"

"Thank you, Mizuki-san!" he nodded. "You jump really high yourself, even for dolphins!"

"Oh, not at all!" she giggled, with a slight blush.

"Here are your prizes!" The shop owner handed a pair of cheques to the two duelists. "Simply put, these are discount cheques for cards, which you can use instead of cash. Pretty handy, isn't it? Taka, your cheque is worth about 3 packs, while Ruka's cheque is worth 6 packs." The two thanked the shop owner and turned to Hiniku and Kaito, who were sit behind them.


	16. Chapter 16: Evening Trial

Chapter 16: Evening Trial

"Taka, huh?" Hiniku mused, as Yoshimitsu and Mizuki turned back to her and Kaito. "I personally think that Koton was more fitting..." The comment made Yoshimitsu blush in embarrassment.

"H-Hiniku-san!" he retorted.

"Kashikoi-san! That's rude!" Mizuki scowled as well.

"She's right, Kashikoi-san." Kaito added "You don't need to belittle him." Hiniku stepped back, feigning surprise.

"Oh, my apologies, Oni-sama." she said, bowing politely. As her head stood down for five full seconds, Yoshimitsu's blush became more intense.

"I'm sorry..." he said "She's a bit weird, but she has no bad intentions, really."

"It's all right, Yoshimitsu-kun." Mizuki smiled warmly, making the fair-haired boy feel relieved. Kaito merely sighed in response.

"I've learnt a lot from this tournament..." Hiniku turned to the raven-haired girl, still feigning a respectful demeanor "You were just spectacular, miss Ruka!" she bowed again.

"Well, don't forget that you're talking with my sister." Kaito tartly said, calling her attention.

"Oh, I didn't, Oni-sama." she replied, mock surprised. He simply gave her an emotionless gaze and turned to the fair-haired boy.

"Well, you're off to a good start." he said, matter-of-factly "But I certainly don't need to remind you that you'll need much, much more than that to face me. Keep practicing." Yoshimitsu half-expected such an evaluation from him, but was still a little struck by the coldness of his tone while he was pronouncing these words. However, he managed to keep his wits and not mind it.

"I most certainly will." he replied "Thanks, Takahashi-senpai."

"You have no need to thank me." he said, while walking off. "Mizuki, let's go home."

"Well, see you soon!" she cheerfully saw off both Yoshimitsu and Hiniku, yet the former could swear he had seen a glint of sadness in her eyes as she turned back to her brother, following him.

"Hey, are you all right, Yoshimitsu-kun?" Nobu asked, making him snap out of his thoughtful trance.

"Oh, yes, I'm alright, sorry." he replied, slightly blushing.

"No problem!" Nobu smiled, adjusting his glasses as he exited the shop with Hiroto.

"Well, hope to duel you again soon!" the aquamarine-haired duelist said, to which Yoshimitsu smiled.

"Hehe." Hiniku giggled. "To me, it looked like you wanted to talk with her a little more..."

"Hiniku-san, I don't think this is a matter we can joke on." Yoshimitsu replied, seriously. "She seemed a little sad when she left. Hadn't you noticed?" Hiniku shook her head in denial.

"I think you worry too much about trivial things." she commented. She didn't fully understand people's concerns over other people, most definitely due to her disregard of social interactions.

"And I think you worry too less for your own good." At Yoshimitsu's reply, Hiniku immediately stopped smiling, understanding right away what he was hinting at.

" _Well, he had to address the elephant in the room, sooner or later._ " she thought, preparing herself for a conversation she would have rather avoided.

"So you know..." she murmured.

"Yes, I do." Yoshimitsu replied, frowning at her, his voice full of concern "What were you thinking? There's a reason why Ryuuji had told you not to get involved! You could've gotten hurt, or worse..." He paled when it was about saying that.

"Well, first, I'm not the kind of girl you can tell what she does. Second, I would've rather died than suffer that humiliation because of which I was here in the first place. Third, this is my matter, why does it concern you so, Yoshimitsu?"

"It's because I care about you, Hiniku-san!" his reply was quick, as he said it in a strong tone. "And I know for a fact that I'm not the only one! Your parents… The friends who followed you in this reckless trip… Haven't you thought about how they might have felt?! Not to mention that you put them in danger as well!" Hiniku stood silent at his words until he stopped speaking. Then after he was done, she replied.

"Well, I'm sorry for putting them in danger. I won't say any lame ass excuse like "It was them who followed me" or similar. I'm sorry. But, as much as I appreciate your concern, I have no need for it. I can handle myself, you know?"

"Well, it doesn't matter if you need it or not! I'll always be worried for you! And so will them!" Even though Hiniku kept a composed face on the outside, his words had actually struck her, so much that she felt uncomfortable continuing.

"This is a waste of my energy. I've had enough." she said, as soon as he finished, then, she turned to the door and gets out of the building.

"Hey!" Yoshimitsu called, just before she slammed the shop door.

" _What's wrong with Hiniku-san…?_ " he wondered, as he took his phone and called his father to pick him up. He knew that Hiniku was a bit of a weirdo and wasn't exactly a people type, but what he didn't know is that Hiniku had little to no knowledge of the mere idea of friends, because of her disregard of social interactions, again. The fair-haired boy's words were to haunt the short girl during her trip home.

" _Friends?_ " She had used that word on impulse that night, when Soaku mocked and threatened Renbo, Tonma and Baka, who had come with her, but still, it wasn't a word she was familiar with. But what was more incredible was that he seemed to consider her a "friend" despite their short and usually pointless interactions.

" _Friends…_ _?_ " It continued to perturb her during her journey back home.

Eventually, Yoshimitsu's father reached the area and entered the shop, finding his son.

"Hey, Yoshimitsu!" he shouted out to his son.

"Hey, dad!" he answered in kind.

"Oh, so you're Yoshi's dad!" the owner shop said, cheerfully "It's nice to meet you!" The historian smiled in response and turned back to his son.

"So, how was the ride?" he asked.

"It was awesome!" the fair-haired boy replied, excitedly.

"Your son is pretty good!" the shop owner added "He just missed the top place!"

"Oh! That's remarkable!" he said, cheerfully "But the most important question is, how did it feel?" Yoshimitsu quickly understood what he meant to ask with that and his reply was quick

"It felt great! I met wonderful people in here! If all tournaments are like this, I'm going to all of them!"

"That's my son!" Daichi said, patting his son's head and chuckling. Yoshimitsu chuckled back.

"Oh, hey, Taka!" the shop owner warned "You should be careful and look out for toxic people, especially in the highest competitive levels. And never let the competition get to your head!"

"Thank you, sir!" Yoshimitsu replied "I won't. I've been told in advance to beware."

"Good!" the shop owner smiled. "Well, best of luck, man!"

"Thank you, sir!" Yoshimitsu replied, with a slight bow. Father and son got on the monorail and headed back home.

"Say, did your friends enjoy the place as well?" Daichi asked his son.

"Oh, they sure did!" he replied "Maybe we'll go there together, someday…

"Oh, Yoshimitsu..." the historian asked "The owner had called you Taka. What does that mean? Is that some kind of nickname?"

"Well...Yeah..." he answered, scratching the back of his head "It's a duel name I've chosen for myself..."

"Oh? And why did you choose that name in particular?"

"Well..." Yoshimitsu's expression became thoughtful "Because it felt like I was flying… And it left me the need of flying higher and higher..."

"What exactly do you mean by flying?" his father asked, in a slightly more serious tone. He quickly understood his worry.

"Seeing more and more of this world, the people that are a part of it..." Hearing that reply, his father was overjoyed.

"Exactly! Fly and see everything from his height is exactly what an eagle does! That's the spirit, Yoshimitsu!" he patted his shoulder, chuckling from happiness and making his son do the same.

"Oh!" Suddenly, Yoshimitsu remembered something "Speaking of people, I'll have to let my friends know how it went!"

"Your friends?" Daichi asked "Weren't they there as well? Or you're talking about other friends?"

"Other friends, dad." he quickly replied, gaining a chuckle from the historian, as he took his phone and messaged his friends Ryuuji and Zappa.

Meanwhile, at a bar in Chiba…

"I'm using Thunder!" Ryuuji claimed, slamming on the table his card. He was facing off against Daisuke.

"Not so fast!" Daisuke proclaimed "I'm denying its activation with Absolute Cake Zone!". His counter denied the activation of the card, but it was a dangerous move, as well…

" _That was my last one, and Ryuuji knows it..._ " Daisuke thought, as he drew a card, since he had Hansel and Gretel on his side of the Field " _He has attached_ _Red Hot Iron Shoes_ _to Hansel_ _, so, if I try to attack him for cards, I'll lose Life Points, and that's not really the best thing, given the situation I am in..._ " He was at 1000 Life Points, while his opponent was at 3000.

" _Well, I can still count on a high number of defenders, against his 5 powerful attackers. He's not getting to my Life Points..._ " Little did he know that Ryuuji was planning to ruin it.

"I'm not through yet!" the redhead proclaimed "I'm playing Bloody Moon! With this, all of my Werewolves are stronger!" Daisuke cringed, knowing exactly that his doom had been spelt.

" _No!_ " he thought " _With that and with the Loup-Garou he has on his side of the Field, I won't be able to defend my Life Points, even with my defenders..._ " In fact, Ryuuji had summoned Loup-Garou, the New Moon a couple of turns before, which meant that Daisuke lost Life Points (100, to be exact) whenever the red-haired duelist's Werewolves attacked, no matter the target or the success. With Bloody Moon on the Field, the lost Life Points rose to 200.

"And the number of Werewolves I have is… 5! Just enough to defeat you! Sorry, man, but this duel is mine!" When Daisuke attacked with his Werewolves, he didn't even bother blocking, knowing that it would have been pointless.

"I lost again..." the bespectacled boy sighed, adjusting his glasses "You're as overwhelming as ever, Ryuuji..."

"Daisuke..." Ryuuji put a hand on his friend's shoulder "It's good to have counter options, and you're second to no one in that field. There's a reason why we've called you "The Ultimate Wall"..."

"Ryuuji..." his friend listened.

"But you can't win only by defending." Ryuuji continued "To win, you have to attack! You should get some new monsters for your Deck, a bit more aggressive than these ones… Or, even better, you could get some cards or abilities that boost your monsters' stats!"

"Well… I don't know many bulky Wind or Light monsters..." Daisuke scratched the back of his head while replying "But I can arrange the boosting magic..."

"Yeah, about that..." Ryuuji took out two copies of Fina, the Silver Player, and gave them to Daisuke.

"These are… For me?" Daisuke was surprised by his friend's gift.

"Yes." the redhead grinned "I found those cards in a booster pack. You definitely need them more than I do. Fina boosts Elves' stats by 400 when she's on the Field. Why not use that ability more creatively with 4 copies? It shouldn't be that hard, with your massive will gain..." Daisuke jolted up on his feet and repeatedly bowed in gratitude

"Thank you, thank you so much, Ryuuji!" he said, wholeheartedly grateful, making his friend scratch the back of his head and smile wider. It was then that someone barged in the bar through the door. It was none other than Zappa Kurosawa, searching for a rematch against Ryuuji.

"Ryuuji Yamazaki! If there's a thing you need to know about me, it's that I, Zappa Kurosawa, never give up against a challenge! In fact, I'm here now to challenge you again! This time, I'll crush you!" His claim amused the redhead

"Your determination really is something!" Ryuuji remarked "But I've gotta ask, did you at least learn from last time?"

"Oh, don't worry!" Zappa replied "I've found myself some new cards! This time, I'll beat you for sure!"

"Oh really?" the red-haired duelist said "Then you should have no problem beating my friend." Daisuke quickly shot a look at him.

"Whoa, R-Ryuuji! Are you sure?" he asked, worriedly.

"Yes." Ryuuji answered "Don't worry and stay focused. Give it your best shot!" then, he gave him the Fina copies. Daisuke's eyes began to lit up, and then he finally said.

"I'll give it my all!"

Zappa and his opponent sat at one of the bar tables and prepared their decks, then set their two stacks and their Rulers in front of them. While the spiky-haired boy was still using Pandora, Daisuke was using his trusted Ruler, Christie, the Wind Tracker. Her Judgment cost 4 wills, of which 2 had to be Wind, but that cost dropped to zero if Daisuke's opponent controlled an Immortal, a Werewolf or a Vampire. Also, she allowed her player to draw a card if he had exactly 5 cards in his hand.

"Sorry, goldeneye, but nothing's gonna stop me from getting to Yamazaki, this time!" Zappa boasted. Ryuuji frowned deeply in hearing the offensive term he had used to describe his friend.

"Hey, you!" he said "You want to get to me, I can take it, but don't you dare talk like that to my friends, you hear me?!" Zappa was shocked by the redhead's angry reaction.

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean no malice..." he quckly apologized, but Ryuuji's frown didn't go away.

"You should watch your mouth." he said "Now get back to the duel!"

"R-right!" Zappa replied, still a little intimidated, then he regained his composure "I'm going first." Daisuke simply nodded in acceptance as both drew 5 cards from their Deck.

"I'll rest Pandora to gain… A Stone of Heaven's Rift!" The spiky-haired boy's first Stone was his Light and Dark one, which put him in advantage in terms of will power.

" _He has that Stone?_ " Daisuke thought " _I can't underestimate him..._ " Of the cards he had in his hand, Zappa played none, and directly passed the turn to his opponent.

" _There is nothing I can play here anyway._ " he thought " _I barely put any monster costing 1 will, since those were piss weak..._ " Windam drew a card of his own and rested Christie, obtaining a Wind Stone.

"I'll play an Elvish Priest!" he proclaimed, resting his Stone right away and slamming on the table the will-producing monster. "With that, I'll end my turn."

" _That's the same game start that Yoshimitsu uses..._ " Zappa thought " _He's trying to gain an advantage in will number..._ " With this thought in mind, he drew a card. " _If I summoned any non-Human monster, that would leave me exposed to his Ruler's ability… I'll play safe for now..._ " He rested his Ruler, gaining a Light Stone, and he knew right away how to use it.

"Now let's get to know each other better!" he smirked "I'll summon Seeking Sky Soldier!". The newly summoned monster was a cost 2 wills, of which 1 light, with 400 Attack and Defense Points, as well as Flying. Also, it allowed its player to see the first card of his opponent's deck. Daisuke thus had to reveal his next draw, and Zappa tensed up in seeing what it was.

" _Absolute Cake Zone!_ " he thought " _The guy can counter! I'll have to be careful, and expect a block anytime soon..._ ".

"I'll end my turn here." he said, passing the move to his opponent. Windam drew his counter and recovered his rested cards, then he rested his Ruler and gained a Light Stone.

"I'll rest my Elvish Priest to summon another one." he proclaimed "And then I'll summon Gretel!" She costed 2 wills, of which one had to be Wind, and had only 200 Attack and Defense, but her true purpose lied in her ability: upon entrance, she made her player check the first card of his Magic Stone stack and made him put it in the Field right away if it was a Wind Stone.

"Gretel's entrance ability activates!" Daisuke continued, plucking a card from his stack "I've got a Wind Stone! It enters the Field right away!" With that and the Elvish Priest, he had 2 wills ready for use.

" _Now he has 2 wills open for an eventual counter!_ " Zappa noticed, expecting him to end his turn there.

"Your move." Daisuke said, exactly as Zappa predicted, prompting the spiky-haired boy to draw and recover. He rested his Ruler, gaining a Darkness Stone.

" _Now I have enough Stones to summon a cost 3_ " he thought. " _But he can almost summon as twice as much… I'll have to cover myself._ "

"I'll summon another Seeking Sky Soldier, and equip it with Silver Stake!" he proclaimed, resting all of his Stones to summon two cards in one go, resulting in a flying soldier which was slightly bulkier than its twin, rocking 800 Attack and Defense. He was also able to see that the next card to be drawn by Daisuke was an Elvish Bowman, a Resonator with a cost of 1 Wind will, 300 Attack and Defense, and a rest ability which destroyed Additions and Armors.

" _He has actually made some decent modifications to his deck..._ " Ryuuji thought, noticing that Zappa's deck was better since the time he had used it against Yoshimitsu.

"Then I'll attack you directly with my first Sky Soldier." he boasted, enthusiastically "Since it has Flying, you won't be able to block!".

Daisuke tensed up as his Life Points went down to 3600. After the attack, the spiky-haired duelist passed the turn to his opponent. Windam drew, recovered and rested his Christie, not for a Stone, but for a second draw, since he had 5 cards in his hand.

" _But he seems to be as reckless as ever..._ " Ryuuji observed, as Daisuke made his moves.

"I'll play Hansel and Cottage of Cakes!" Daisuke proclaimed. While the former was a cost 3 monster with 400 Attack and 700 Defense, as well as the ability to make his player draw a card whenever it inflicted direct damage and a protection against attacks whenever Gretel was on the field as well, the latter was a Field Addition which gave Barrier to Hansel and Gretel and could "store" Resonators, removing them from play by resting it and paying a Wind will, and then placing them back in game by resting it, banishing it and paying a Wind will.

"With that, I'll end my turn." he then concluded, making Zappa draw a card and recover. He then rested his Pandora and gained a second Heaven's Rift.

"I'll summon Cinderella, the Ashen Maiden, and I'll equip her with Slipper of Cinderella." he said, confidently "Since she has a basic Attack and Defense of 400, she gains a buff of 600 for both. Otherwise, her Attack and Defense would be cut by 400." Basically, he had summoned a 1000/1000 monster. However, as powerful as it was, it was vulnerable to the Bowman's Armor-shattering ability.

"Then, I'll attack with both of my Soldiers for 1200 damage!" Daisuke tensed up, as he was unable to do anything to prevent his Life Points from dropping to 2400. After that, there wasn't much else that Zappa could do, so it was clear that he was about to end his turn there.

"Before you end your turn, I'm using Cottage of Cakes' ability!"Windam proclaimed "I'm resting it in order to remove from play one of my Elvish Priests!" Thus, the will-producing monster was ejected from the Field and "stored" in the Cottage.

"My turn's done." the spiky-haired boy said, and so Daisuke started his own turn, drawing, recovering, and resting Christie for a Wind Stone.

"I'll summon Elvish Bowman and Fina, the Silver Player!" he said, slamming on the table the two Elf monsters, one capable of destroying Additions and Armors, the other one capable of boosting his other Elves' stats. And not only that!

"Since my ruler is Christie, your Resonators lose Flying, Swiftness or any other Symbol Skill they have!" Windam claimed, making Zappa cringe.

" _He's serious._ " he thought " _And that card is a serious problem… But I have to hold on and not summon anymore monsters, since I'm gonna perform Pandora's Judgment on my next turn..._ "

" _Zappa-kun almost has enough wills to perform his Ruler's Judgment..._ " Daisuke noticed " _Nothing good is brewing up… I should bail Fina out as soon as possible..._ "With that thought in mind, he passed the turn to his opponent. Zappa drew and recovered, then rested his Pandora for a Darkness Stone.

"I'm resting my Elvish Bowman in order to destroy your Cinderella's Slippers!" Windam claimed, thus harshly reducing the Ashen Maiden's power. But Zappa still had one strong Resonator ready for attack.

"I'll attack with my buffed Seeking Sky Soldier!" he claimed. Daisuke blocked with his Elvish Priest, protecting his Life Points by sacrificing the Wind will producer. The spiky-haired boy decided to not make further attempts to attack, since he could be easily blocked. And passed the turn to Windam, prompting him to draw and recover. The brown-haired boy rested Christie for a Light Stone, then he made his moves.

"I rest Elvish Bowman to destroy your Soldier's Silver Stake!" he claimed, sending the Armor to the graveyard. "Then, I'll play a second Cottage of Cakes and I'll eject Hansel from play with my first one!", sheltering the little Human. With that, he ended his turn, prompting Zappa to draw and recover. It was obvious that he planned to perform Pandora's Judgment, so Windam pulled off another trick, before he did.

"I'll rest my second Cottage of Cakes in order to eject from play Fina!" Zappa cringed, understanding that his opponent had predicted his move, but he decided to stick to his plan, nonetheless.

"I'm resting all of my Stones to perform my Ruler's Judgment!" he proudly proclaimed as he flipped his Ruler, showing her Judgment form "Open your box and spread your hope in the world! Shape it as you please! Shine on, Pandora of Light!" She had 400 Attack and 800 Defense Points, plus a fearsome ability which activated upon entrance "Once she enters the Field, it's nuked! All of our monsters are going straight to the graveyard!" Both Zappa and Daisuke's monsters were destroyed.

" _He's chosen the worst time to pull off that trick..._ " Ryuuji thought, observing the duel " _It'll definitely backfire..._ " After using all of his Stones for Pandora's Judgment, the spiky-haired boy was out of options and had no choice but to pass the turn to his opponent. Windam drew and recovered, then rested his Ruler for another Light Stone. Then, he pulled off his trick.

"I'll send both of my Cottages to the graveyard! All of my sheltered monsters get back on the Field!" The Elvish Priest, Hansel and Fina returned in play, making Zappa cringe. He was expecting that, but it didn't make it any less threatening.

"Then, I'll summon Elvish Bowman and Gretel!" he proclaimed, gaining a Wind Stone with her ability. Then, he passed the turn to his opponent, who drew and recovered. Zappa didn't rest his J-Ruler for more Stones, knowing that it would have left her vulnerable to enemy attack. He had another idea.

"I'll summon Deadman Prince!" he proclaimed, putting on the Field a cost 3 Resonator which put a Resonator from his graveyard back to his hand upon entrance. "With his effect, I get back from the graveyard Cinderella, the Ashen Maiden, and I'll summon her right away!"

"Not so fast!" Daisuke stopped him "I'm negating the summon with Absolute Cake Zone! Not only your summon is negated, but I get to draw a card, since I've got Hansel and Gretel on my side of the Field!" Zappa tensed up as he put the Ashen Maiden in the graveyard. He had no choice but to end his turn there, since he had used all of his Stones to pull off his maneuver. Windam drew and recovered, but did not rest his Ruler.

" _He wants to perform Judgment!_ " Zappa quickly noticed " _And he can do it without paying wills, since I've just summoned an Immortal monster… Damn._ "

"First, I'll perform my Ruler's Judgment!" Daisuke proclaimed, as he flipped his Ruler card without resting a single Stone. "You, who prowl in the night, pursuing the hungry hounds of darkness, make the winds of victory blow by my side! Cut through our foes, Helsing, the Vampire Hunter!" Christie's J-Ruler form bore 1000 Attack and Defense, as well as the ability to make a non-Human Resonator lose all of its abilities, only to destroy it at the end of Daisuke's turn. The only enemy non-Human, the only possible target for his ability, was the monster who had helped Christie awaken her J-Ruler power. That was more than enough to make Zappa tense up, but it wasn't enough for Windam.

"I'm not done yet!" he continued "I play Light Palace, the King's Castle. My Humans' stats will be boosted by 200!" Those Humans were Hansel and Gretel, which made them more stronger.

" _Is he planning to attack with Hansel and Gretel?_ " Zappa wondered. The glasses-wearing duelist, however, had one last card to play.

"I'll summon a second Fina and a second Elvish Bowman!" he concluded, getting a second boost for all of his Elves and some remarkable powerhouses on his side of the Field.

"I'll have my first Elvish Bowman attack you directly!" he said, resting his Bowman, which had 1300 Attack and Defense thanks to the twin Finas on his side of the Field.

"I won't let you destroy me! I'll block!" he said, as he rested his only monster to defend himself. Obviously, the Deadman Prince didn't stand a chance against the buffed Elf, so it went straight to the Graveyard.

"I'll then attack you directly with Hansel and my first Fina!" Windam continued his barrage. "Since Hansel has got to hit you, I get to draw an extra card!" The attack brought the defenseless spiky-haired duelist's Life Points down to 2600.

"Your move, Zappa-kun." he concluded, passing the turn to Zappa. The spiky-haired boy drew and recovered, not resting his J-Ruler for Stones.

" _I must focus on defense,_ _now_ _..._ " he thought. " _Those darn Fina copies have boosted his units' power a whole lot..._ "

"I'm summoning Juliet, the Hope!" he put on the Field his light defender. It was clear that he was planning to summon her lover and dark counterpart. In fact…

"I summon Romeo, the Despair!" he proclaimed, trying to grant his monster invulnerability through the presence of that card. However, Daisuke had expected that, and had an Absolute Cake Zone ready for use.

" _Darn!_ " Zappa frowned, seeing that his idea had been foiled. But he had still one defensive card to play.

"I'll summon Sleeping Beauty!" His support and defense Resonator entered the Field, ready to defend its player. "With that, I'm ending my turn." Windam drew and recovered, not resting his J-Ruler for Stones.

" _Is he planning to attack me with Helsing?_ " the spiky-haired duelist wandered. But the glasses-wearing duelist had a last trick to play.

"I'll summon my third Fina!" he proclaimed, slamming on the table a third buffing Elf Resonator. Now, his monsters's power was raised by a total of 1200. "I'll then play a second Light Palace!" he continued, boosting by a total of 400 Hansel and Gretel as well. Zappa was tense, not sure to survive Daisuke's turn.

"First, I'll attack with my first Elvish Bowman!" Windam claimed, resting his Addition-destroying Elf, bearing a power of 1500.

"I'll block with Sleeping Beauty!" Zappa hurriedly rested his "bulkiest" defensive Resonator, defending his Life Points at the cost of sacrificing her.

"I'm not done yet! I'll attack with my first Fina!" he continued, going for a shot of 1200. This time, the spiky-haired boy blocked the attack with Juliet, and he managed to defend his Life Points once again, by sending her to the Graveyard.

"Then, I'll attack with my second Elvish Bowman!" he continued on, trying to inflict 1200 points of damage. However, Zappa countered with a desperate maneuver.

"I'm blocking with Pandora." he said, almost sighing. His J-Ruler stood no chance against the buffed Resonator and was reduced to an Astral Ruler, locked to his Ruler form for the remainder of the duel.

"I still have my second Fina, Helsing and my Humans to attack with, and that's what I'm gonna do!" Windam continued his barrage against Zappa. First, he rested Fina, reducing the spiky-haired duelist's Life Points to 1400. Then, he attacked with Helsing, reducing his Life Points to 400. Finally, he brought the duel to an end with a final direct attack from Gretel.

"Not again..." Zappa scowled, hanging his head in shame.

"You've made good adjustments to your deck, spiky..." Ryuuji remarked "But you don't know how to use them properly. Keep training."

"I will." Zappa looked at him with a frown "Don't worry, I will!" It was then that two ringtones caught their attention. Both of them had received a message from Yoshimitsu Hayashi.

"Hey guys! I'm coming back from my first tournament! It was awesome! I need to find the next one as soon as possible!" This was the excited message they received.

"That's great!" Ryuuji replied "I'm looking forward to next time! I'd like to see how do you do!"

"That's my man!" Zappa replied "Have you reached the top?"

"Thank you, Ryuuji! I'm looking forward to seeing you in a tournament as well!" Ryuuji received as a reply. Instead, Zappa read "Nope… 2nd place, but I'm not complaining. It was great nonetheless!" Ryuuji replied simply with a thumbs up, while Zappa replied "That's still awesome, especially considering that this was your first time in a tournament! Congrats, bro!"

"Why don't you ask to your friend how his tournament went?" the red-haired duelist asked the spiky-haired one. "Maybe he might also have a piece of advice for you..." Zappa frowned in response, sad that he was considered as a bad duelist by Ryuuji and Daisuke. Suddenly, Rayearth received another message. He smiles as he read it, and moved towards the bar door.

"Daisuke, I think we can call it a day." he said to his teammate "I'm going home, my little brother is waiting for me. What about you?"

"I'm going home as well." Windam said, adjusting his glasses with a shaky hand"It's getting dark, I wouldn't want to get caught up in trouble… Not when I'm unprepared, at least..." He then followed Ryuuji.

"Hey, what about me?" Zappa scowled as he exited the bar, following them.

"I think you should go home as well, Zappa..." Ryuuji said, in a somewhat concerned tone. Zappa, after some moments of silence, approved the idea.

"You might be right..."


	17. Chapter 17: Underground

Chapter 17: Underground

 **Warning: slight M-Rated content is present in this chapter.**

That night, in the darker corners of Chiba, fearsome trouble hunters were enjoying themselves in the underground party. Underground duelists were gathered in a slightly ominous building known as the Devil's Den, in the outskirts of the town. A match was being played between two duelists: a muscled bald man and a young man wearing a white and purple mask, with edges looking like they were spikes. From two holes in that mask, two black eyes, shining like pearls, could be seen. Both the duelists were in a closed cage, shaped like a cube. The bald one was sweating, his defeat was approaching. He had two monsters on his side of the Field, but his masked opponent, with his J-Ruler ability, had cancelled all of their abilities, then he made short work of them with his monsters. Now, he was ready to deliver the final blow.

"No! This can't be!" the bald duelist despairingly protested.

"My Harbinger of Despair, finish off this joker!" he solemnly proclaimed as he rested his J-Ruler. The bald one was unable to block, and his Life Points dropped to zero.

"Oh yeah, baby!" the announcer proclaimed, a young man dressed up like a punk, with a mohawk haircut "The winner of tonight's cell hell is The Demon!" The people in the place, all dressed up like punks as well, exploded in a raucous, almost demonic cheer, as the loser fell to his knees and the winner looked around, with pride. His eyes fell on an alluring woman, who was watching him from a higher platform. She was dressed up in a long black dress, and she was wearing an ample hat, under which her luscious black haired flowed. Her gloved arms were resting on the platform railing. On that very platform, a tall man in black suit and tie approached him.

"Excuse me, miss." he politely asked her "But I've never seen you in this place before. Would you kindly tell me who you are?" His face looked stoic and composed. The woman turned to the man. Her eyes were covered by her hat, but her lips were curved in a small smile.

"Oh, I'm a sponsor." she replied "And the young man who has triumphed today is my champion." The man walked to her side, closer to the railing

"Well, you sure know on which horse you should bet your chips..." he commented. The crowd slowly began to disperse, some left the building, others went in another room to party hard. The mysterious masked duelist walked away on his own, his eyes were fixated on the woman and on the man by his side until his sight couldn't reach them anymore.

"And you?" she asked him, her devil red lips still slightly curved upwards. "I haven't seen you around either. Who are you?" The question made the man chuckle slightly.

"Why, miss, you wound me." he said, smiling "If this place is up and running, you owe it to my family, who has possessed it for a long time! Even if you hadn't seen me before, I figured you would at least have known me..."

"Believe me..." she said, biting her lip "I wish I did..." The man's face remained calm, but his eyes were fixated on the woman. It was clear that he was charmed by her bewitching beauty. Her eyes turned back on the lower floor as it emptied "Truth be told, I had heard that this place has been a staple for gambling for a long time, but it had fallen on hard times.." The man's eyes moved to the empty floor as well.

"Yes..." he replied, almost as if he was sighing. "But Force of Will saved us. That game is worth a lot of bucks, no matter how you gain them..."

"But don't you find it a little odd?" the woman inquired "It is possible to gamble even with such an innocent card game..." The man stood silent for some seconds, then gave his answer.

"I'm not complaining. After all, everything has a dark side, and here, in the underground, the dark side of anything takes control. Surely you know about the cruelty and brutality which rule in this place. People are willing to massacre one another for money, and they revel in enjoyment while they do it, stealing from others, as well as themselves… It happened with Force of Will. It can happen with anything, and anyone as well… Maybe it happens on the surface as well, but in the underground the fight is most intense." He wasn't aware that the woman had walked to his other side, and was surprised in hearing her slightly moaning as she bit her lip.

"Mm~..."

As he turned to her, she slowly got closer. He was like petrified, staring at her, then, she closed her eyes, and put her lips on his. The man's eyes slightly widened in surprise, but then he relaxed, closed his eyes and indulged in the sweet taste of her lips.

"Tell me… Do you have a dark side?" she murmured as she slowly pulled away from him.

"Yes, I do..." the man admitted, his voice more gruff than before. All his restraint was gone. He pulled the woman to him and kissed her, fiercely and hungrily. Her hat fell on the floor, revealing more of her long black hair.

"Mm..." she moaned in the kiss as his tongue came playing with hers. A hand cupped his cheek, while the other was on his back. They slowly walked away, still kissing and holding one another. One of his hands was in her hair, the other was on her back. They entered in a small, empty, shadowy room, illuminated just by a faint red lamp, when her back and his hands hit a wall. They pulled away from one another.

"Show it to me then..." she said, in a whisper, destroying what last fiber of rational thought was keeping him from feasting on her there and then.

"You asked for it..." he growled, as he assaulted once again. They were moaning in each other's mouths, their hands were roaming each other's backs, then, when the woman slammed the door of the room with her leg, his mouth moved to her neck, and his hands moved to her hips and to her legs.

"Aah~..." small moans escaped from her mouth, as he tasted her neck. Her hand moved on the back of his neck. "So this is..."

In the party room, the man walked like a lost puppy, still not registering his defeat, among people drinking and moving their body to the music. Suddenly, a young man pointed at him.

"Hey, look! It's the dirty pig who'd just fallen in the mud!" he said, and everyone, including himself, burst in laughter.

"Wrecking Ball?" another said "More like Crumbling Ball!"

"He thought he had it gold, but he lost all of his bucks!" They all made fun of him. He once was a feared and respected duelist, known for breaking the bones of those who didn't show respect to him, but, in that instant, The Demon, the masked duelist, had taken it all away from him, and he was dead to them all. The confusion turned in anger, the anger turned in rage…

"GRAAAH! DON'T YOU TOUCH ME!" he said, as one of the youngsters who were making fun of him was approaching, and shoved him away with his strong arm. Then, he slowly walked out of the room. As he walked through the emptied cage room, his steps increased in speed, until…

 **bump…**

He stopped in his tracks and turned back. He thought he had just heard a bump from a door in the floor above him. But then he turned his look away and walked out of the building.

" _I have no time for this shit..._ " he thought " _I've got a brat to turn into mincemeat..._ " He didn't know what was happening behind that door, and he didn't care in the slightest. He got out of the building, then he walked faster, faster, faster…

Until he was running. As he ran, he saw the masked duelist and clenched his fists, gritting his teeth, then he let out his rage in an angry cry.

"ASSHOLE!"

Just as the bald man's punch was about to hit him, The Demon moved aside. After some steps, the man stopped and turned to the brat who had humiliated him so, absolutely livid.

"You… You think you're hot shit! I'll show you what happens when you try to fuck with me!" He lunged at him and tried to punch him once more, but he moved away once again.

"You're pathetic." he commented, enraging the bald man all the more.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" he shrieked. He tried many, many more times, he barraged him with punches, but not a single one hit its target.

"You're wasting your breath and your muscles." The Demon spoke, while avoiding his attacks "No matter how many times you try punching me, no matter how much you scream, it won't change the fact that you have lost. If you're a real man, then deal with it!"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" the bald man replied, while trying to grab him or to punch him. Any trial, a failure.

"You should know this place's law. You win or you lose, and if you lose, there are two options: due payment or death."

"DEATH! YOUR DEATH!" he continued on, blinded by his rage.

"Wouldn't you make even more of a fool of yourself by killing me only to protect your dirty money? Those who enforce the cruelty in this place will come after you..." At those words, the bald man stopped, but he still glared at the masked duelist, who faced his stare calmly with his deep, black eyes.

"So you don't know me..." he growled, only to shout again "I AM WRECKING BALL, YOU DUMBASS! EVERYONE WHO TOUCHES ME IS DEAD! EVERYONE WHO FUCKS WITH ME IS DEAD! YOU! ARE! DEAD!" He tried to hit him with a punch, but this time, The Demon broke his arm as it was about to hit him.

"Aaaargh..." His rage was faced with pain. Then, the air around them became still. The bald man stood still, as an unspeakable terror took control of him, and his rage was rapidly replaced with pure horror. He couldn't do anything but stare in the masked duelist's deep black eyes.

"No. You're dead." he said, in an ominous tone, as the Spirograph tattoo on his arm began glowing of an equally ominous light. It was almost like there was an evil spirit at his command with him. Then, he pronounced only one word. One word that spelt the doom of the angry man.

"Advent."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" An inhuman, blood curling scream was the last sound the bald man made, as his skin became pale and his eyes became blank. Then, he fell down to the ground with a thud. The masked duelist approached the corpse and snickered.

"Pathetic man." he commented "You never deserved to be on top. I'll put you in the spot you deserve." He took out a mobile phone from his pocket and called a number, then he placed the phone close to his ear. Two long beeps were heard, then, a female voice answered, with a bored tone.

"Hello?" The Demon immediately recognized the voice.

"Unzari, it's me." he replied, calmly. Hearing that, the girl's tone became more serious.

"Leader! Do you have orders for me?" she asked.

"Well, first things first, I want a full report. What has happened today?" he asked, in a tone which seemed gentle enough, but hinted the demanding of an answer.

"I've found this girl..." she began. "Her name is Hiniku Kashikoi. She still has to grow, but in time she will be a valuable asset for us."

"How can you be so sure?" he inquired "Have you guys tested her yourselves?"

"Yes, we did." Viper swiftly replied. "She's also a bit of a nosy..." She yawned, before continuing "She and her friends have found our base, so we had to burn it down and retreat to the backup base..." He grunted softly, hearing those words.

"And what about Robo-gimp?" he asked. Unzari stood silent for a moment, then she replied.

"We haven't managed to catch it..." The Demon's annoyance was much more evident in his next words.

"I see..." he said. Another moment of silence.

"How are things on your end, leader?" she asked.

"Well, while you children were flailing around, I was earning our gold." he answered, matter-of-factly. "There was just some guy who couldn't take defeat like a man..."

"...Are you implying what I think you are?" Viper asked.

"Yes, I am." The Demon said, almost as if he had read her thoughts. "We'll make something good out of this dead meatball. Prepare the… No… Prepare both the Mystic Machines."

"Both of them?" Unzari asked, still in a calm tone "Is this meatball really that big?"

"Not exactly." he replied "You see, while I was dueling there was **her** watching me..."

" **Her?** "

"Yes. She had her eyes on a man who came around. I have reason to believe she's planning to use him for that special project..."

"I understand… I'm preparing the Machines." she readily replied.

"Good." he said, satisfied "I'll be back to the base shortly. Oh, and what about… them?"

"You mean the Sephiroth Tetragram?" she said "They've begun moving. They're trying to find out what we're trying to do..."

"I see… Be careful and don't make any mistakes."

"They also have made themselves a new friend, but I believe it would be trivial to worry about him right now. He's a newbie called Yoshimitsu Hayashi..."

"Don't be a fool." he said, his voice resuming a gruff tone. "If you think like that, we could face him as a significant obstacle. Keep monitoring him."

"Yes, leader." she replied. "And what about the other guy?"

"Him? Hmmm..." he thought about it, then he shook his head "You can try, but I don't think he'll be joining us anytime soon… He prefers to do things alone…"

"I understand… But still, I'll continue trying."

"There's a chance that he and the Tetragram might clash once more..." A smirk made its way on his face at the thought. "Wait for me, I'll be there in no time." He hung up the call, put the phone back in his pocket and walked away, on his way to meet his teammates. As he walked, the corpse of the bald man slightly rose from the ground, then disappeared without a trace

"Sure, that meatball wasn't the only one…" the masked duelist murmured to himself as he walked "There is so much foolishness in this world… They all need to be put in their place…"

…

"Aaaaahhh~… Ah-Ahhhh~..."

"Mmmmm~..."

The black-haired woman was knelt on the ground, the man was under him. They were grinding against each other, free from the boundaries of their clothes. The man was lusciously sucking on her breast, while holding her close, unable to hold back.

"Aaaahh~… Aaaahhh~..."

She was moaning loudly at the feeling of him grinding inside her and of his mouth on her breast. Her arms were locked behind the man's back. They were deeply engaged in an erotic romp that they were continuing from some time.

"Mmm… Aahh..."

The man's mouth moved on the valley between her breasts, making her moans rise in pitch and volume. Both felt their release approaching. He was panting and moaning on her chest, while she felt like she was melting down.

"Aaah… I- I'm gonna..."

Without warning, he exploded inside her, making her explode on him in turn.

"AAAAAHHHH!~" they shouted in unison as their romp reached the climax. The man fell on the floor, panting. The woman fell on top of him, panting as well, still with him inside her.

"Ahh… You… You sure can show a woman a good time..." she commented, lifting her chest a little and caressing his bare chest.

"Glad I showed you, baby." he replied, with a cheeky tone, caressing her arms and her shoulders "You should know, if there's a thing I like, I take it." The bold statement gained him a giggle from the woman, as his hands went to her waist. She was slightly shivering from pleasure.

"Ooooh! How bold!~ You and I are the same, you know?" she said.

"We are?" he asked, slightly surprised from her words, as her hands went to his cheeks.

"I like you..." she said "...And I take you." Right after pronouncing those words, he turned the man's head to the side, breaking his neck. The man had only a few instants to realize his doom before the end. The woman's smile widened after that.

"You know, cutie?" she said, giggling "You're so much more handsome like that..." She kissed him and held him, not minding the fact that he was dead. She moaned in his mouth as she ground against him.

"Mmmm…~ Mmmmm…~"


	18. Chapter 18: Sunday Meeting

Chapter 18: Sunday Meeting.

The following day, Yoshimitsu Hayashi woke up normally. The previous day, he had felt the excitement of a Force of Will tournament for the first time, and shared it with his friends and family as well. After his daily morning routine, he went downstairs to have breakfast with his father and mother.

"Good morning, Yoshimitsu!" her mother greeted him with a warm smile.

"Good morning, mom! Good morning, dad!" he greeted back, smiling in turn.

"So, how's my duelist doing?" his father asked, cheerfully. The fair-haired boy chuckled.

"Well, the day has just started..." he replied "We'll have to see it, right?" Both his parents laughed at his answer.

"Do you have any plans for today?" his mother asked.

"Not really." Yoshimitsu answered "I'll do some revision, then I'll see what happens." His statement won a smile from both of his parents. After breakfast, he reviewed some pages of schoolwork carefully. About an hour and a half later he had just finished when his phone rang, signaling that someone had written him. It was Ryuuji.

"Hey, Yoshimitsu! It's me, Ryuuji! Why don't you come over at the Taster bar this afternoon? It's the place we've chosen as our HQ until they repair the Yellow Submarine. I'm curious to hear about the tournament from you!" This was the content of the message.

"Hello Ryuuji! I'll definitely come, thanks for telling me!" he texted back.

"You're welcome, mate!" he read the swift reply. The rest of the morning went off without too much trouble, as Yoshimitsu read some manga from his shelves. Then came lunchtime. The family was sit around the table once more.

"So, what's the news?" his mother asked.

"My friends have invited me to meet them at the bar this afternoon." he replied, with a smile. His mother smiled back.

"They'll most likely want to hear from you about the tournament." the historian mused.

"Probably." his son replied. When they finished eating, the fair-haired boy went back to his room and prepared himself to go to the bar, taking his deck with him.

"Alright, I'm off!" he said while going out the door.

"Take care!" his mom replied as he left. Eventually, after a short walk, he reached the bar, where Ryuuji was already waiting for him.

"Hey, mate!" he greeted, with a cheerful grin.

"Hello, Ryuuji!" he greeted back, before noticing that a little boy, most likely a 10 year old, was with him. He greeted as well.

"Hello!"

Ryuuji chuckled in response, as Yoshimitsu looked at him, slightly confused. The little boy had red hair and orange-hued eyes just like him.

"Oh right, Yoshimitsu, this is Reiya, my little brother. Reiya, this is Yoshimitsu, a friend of mine." Yoshimitsu chuckled.

"Well, nice to meet you, Reiya-kun!" he said, smiling.

"Nice to meet you, too, Yoshi-san!" he smiled back "My brother had told me a lot about you!" Yoshimitsu slightly blushed at the use of the honorific, while Ryuuji chuckled, amused by his friend's reaction.

"I've told him that you're a good player, and he's wanted to meet you ever since." he explained, scratching the back of his head. "As for the others, they should be here shortly. Have a seat!" Yoshimitsu sat at the table with Ryuuji and Reiya and chatted a little with them.

"So, Yoshi-san." the little boy asked "For how long have you been playing?"

"Well, about three days ago." he answered, honestly. "Your brother has taught me how to play."

"Oh, that explains a lot!" he exclaimed, excitedly. "Of course my brother had to teach you, if you're as good as he says!" Yoshimitsu smiled at the comment and glanced at Ryuuji.

"Since I was about to meet you and the others here, and Reiya has wanted to see you so bad, I figured I could take him here as well..." he said, scratching the back of his head, with a grin.

" _These two really are alike!_ " the fair-haired boy thought " _It's pretty obvious they're brothers. It also seems that Reiya looks up to Ryuuji..._ " Then, the door opened and Nagisa and Daisuke entered the bar as well.

"Hello, Ryuuji!" the glasses-wearing duelist greeted "Sorry we're late!"

"Hello, Ryuuji." the Sea Wyvern greeted as well, with a slightly colder tone "I honestly wonder how you can get here so early and wait for us, since it hasn't been much time from lunch..."

"Oh, that's simple!" Ryuuji smiled. "Reiya and I went to a fast food before coming here."

"Reiya?" Nagisa was slightly confused, but then, after noticing the little boy sitting by his side, she understood "Oh, you mean your little brother."

"I see that Yoshimitsu-kun is here, as well." Daisuke noticed, adjusting his glasses.

"Yep, he is!" Ryuuji confirmed "Take a seat, everyone! We have a lot to talk about!" Everyone took a seat at Ryuuji's table.

"So..." the Dragon began "Our friend Yoshimitsu has just had his first taste of official comps!" His announcement caught everyone's attention.

"Oh! Nice!" Daisuke said, timidly, yet excitedly. Ryuuji then turned back to Yoshimitsu.

"Tell us, Yoshimitsu, how was it?" he asked.

"Well… It was just awesome!" he said, getting excited as he spoke "To get to know new people like this is incredible! It felt just like flying!"

"I'm glad you felt that way." Nagisa said calmly, nodding, but there was a smile on her face "If you did, that means you're a true duelist, and a worthy addition to the Sephiroth Tetragram."

"It has left me the feeling of knowing more people! I felt the drive to go to the top, but I enjoyed the path." Yoshimitsu continued "In order to never forget that feeling, I had chosen for myself the duel name of Taka."

"Great choice!" the Griffin exclaimed.

"Have you thought about your deck and how you could better it?" Nagisa asked.

"Not really..." he replied "I don't have many cards besides those already in my deck, and the few oher ones I have don't seem very viable..."

"Well, you should buy other cards as soon as possible" Ryuuji suggested "Don't be afraid to rebuild your deck from zero, should you ever need it."

"From zero?" The red-haired duelist's suggestion left Yoshimitsu surprised.

"Yes! If you have a strategy which involves a completely different deck, don't be afraid of changing it!" Ryuuji said, with a smile. The fair-haired boy took in his friend's words, and then accepted them.

"Understood. Thanks, Ryuuji!"

"No problem, mate!" Ryuuji cheerfully replied.

"Oh, was someone we know among the participants?" Daisuke asked, adjusting his glasses.

"Well..." Yoshimitsu answered "There were Mizuki-san and Hiniku-san..." When it came to mentioning the short girl, he blushed a little in embarrassment, knowing that her mention would have caused a stir among the duelists.

"Huh? Kashikoi-san?" Daisuke exclaimed. Nagisa merely sighed in annoyance, while Ryuuji's eyes were covered by a shadow.

"That goddamn idiot..." he murmured, clenching his fists in anger. "She didn't even bother thinking about how other might have felt..." Hearing those words, Yoshimitsu's head slightly dropped.

"Yeah..." he said "I've talked with her about that..." His mind traced back the conversation he had with her, as well as her reaction to his reprimand.

"You did?" Ryuuji turned to his classmate immediately.

"You have my condolences." Nagisa sighed, imagining how much she must have been driving him crazy.

"What did she say in response?" Daisuke asked.

"She… Looked rather bothered by my words..." Yoshimitsu remarked, remembering her reaction. "She looked like she felt uncomfortable continuing, for some reason…" The explanation left Ryuuji quite baffled, since it meant that his words had somewhat got through her, but it also meant that Hiniku didn't fully grasp them.

"Go figure her..." Nagisa sighed, her expression as calm as ever. Daisuke simply stood silent, wondering why she acted like that.

"I'm lost here..." Reiya admitted, with a confused look on his face. Ryuuji turned to his brother with a smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Reiya." he said "We were just talking about another duelist we know."

"I have a question." the Sea Wyvern asked "I can see why Yoshimitsu-kun is here, but why did you bring your little brother as well?"

"Well…" the Dragon replied, scratching the back of his head "He wanted to see how we duel..."

"It's a serious matter, Ryuuji!" Nagisa scolded "It's not just about dueling!"

"I know, Nagisa!" Ryuuji replied "But we got time for that. Also, the more we are, the better!" Nagisa kept a hard expression for some seconds, then merely sighed.

"That much can't be contested." Nagisa admitted. "So, what do you want to do?"

"I want to duel you, Nagisa!" Ryuuji replied. "Since you're the best duelist here, second only to the boss, a duel with you would be a perfect lesson for Reiya! And for Yoshimitsu, as well!" Nagisa merely sighed in response, but nonetheless got up, took a seat at a table for two, and invited his red-head teammate to join her. He sat in front of her without a word and took his deck out of his pocket.

"Oooh, they're about to start!" Reiya got pumped up right away. Yoshimitsu set his eyes on the two duelists, prepared to watch them carefully. They put their separate stacks and their Rulers on the table.

"Whenever we faced each other, you never managed to beat me." Nagisa remarked, with a cheeky smirk on her face.

"Maybe I won't be able to beat you even now..." Ryuuji replied, with a smile "But if I can do that, stay sure that I'll make you sweat!" He then turned to Yoshimitsu and Reiya and winked.

"Big bro is so cool!" Reiya said, excitedly, while Yoshimitsu smiled.

"I'll go first." the Dragon said, to which the Sea Wyvern nodded in agreement as they both drew 5 cards from their decks. Ryuuji started his turn by gaining a Light Stone.

"Hmmm… I'll end my turn here. Your move, Nagisa!" he said right after that, prompting Nagisa to draw a card.

" _He might have modified his deck..._ " she thought as she rested her Ruler for a Water Stone " _He didn't summon any Wolf-Haunted in Black Forest… Has he ditched those, maybe?_ "

"I'll summon Knight of the New Moon!" she proclaimed. Her basic soldier would have been a good defense against the first monster her opponent would try throwing at her. Since she couldn't do anything else, she ended her turn there. Ryuuji drew, recovered and rested his Ruler, gaining a Fire Stone. He knew right away what to summon.

"I'll summon Moon Night Pouncer!" he said, slamming on the table his cost 2 500/500 attacker. "With that I'll end my turn." he said. Nagisa drew her card and rested her Ruler, obtaining a second Water Stone. She had already in mind what to do.

"I'll summon Archer of the Crescent Moon!" she said, as her first variable power monster entered her side of the field with 500/500, thanks to the Knight already on the field. "Your move, Ryuuji."

" _A monster with varying power, depending from the number of other Wererabbits on her side of the field..._ " Yoshimitsu noticed " _I wonder how will Ryuuji play around it..._ " Ryuuji drew his card, recovered his Stones and rested his Ruler, gaining a second Fire Stone.

"First, I'll use Thunder on your Knight!" he said, resting 1 of his Stones to destroy her basic blocker and lowering the Archer's attack to the basic 200/200.

"Then, I'll play Red Hot Iron Shoes, attaching it to your Archer!" he proclaimed. It was an Armor which inflicted 500 damage to the attached Resonator's player whenever it was rested. Nagisa was surprised by her opponent's move, since it was a card that she had never seen him using.

"Then, I'll attack you directly with my Moon Night Pouncer!" she didn't bother blocking, knowing that it would have only worsened her situation. Her Life Points dropped to 3500.

" _Looks like you've picked up some new tricks..._ " she thought, a smile making its way on her face, as the Dragon passed the turn to her, prompting her to draw her card and rest her Ruler for a Light Stone.

"I'll summon a second Archer of the Crescent Moon!" she proclaimed, and she managed to get two 500/500 boosting each other on her side of the Field.

"Then, before I end my turn, I'll lay a card face down." Thanks to her Ruler's ability, the Sea Wyvern had to pay only 1 will for placing the card. Then, once she had finished, Ryuuji drew and recovered, then rested his Ruler, gaining a Heat Ray. However, he wasn't the only one to gain something handy.

"I'm activating my face-down card right now!" It was Five Challenges, which allowed her to draw an extra card. Ryuuji smiled, since he had expected that, then, his expression returned focused as his eyes returned on the table.

"I'll play a Bloody Moon, thus increasing all my Werewolves' power by 200!" he said "Then, I'll play Thunder on your new Archer!" Nagisa found herself with only an Archer of 200/200 with a burning weight once more…

"Then I'll attack with my buffed Pouncer!" he proclaimed, resting his only attacker. Nagisa decided not to block, and so her Life Points decreased by another 700, leaving her with a total of 2800. Since he had nothing else left to do, Ryuuji ended his turn, prompting Nagisa to draw, recover and rest her Ruler for another Water Stone.

" _You really have improved your_ _d_ _eck..._ " she thought.

"Big bro is getting the Wererabbit girl on her toes!" Reiya squealed in excitement, while Yoshimitsu was focused on carefully observing the duel.

" _Ryuuji has managed to prevent Nagisa-san from attacking or retaliating for two turns in a row… But for how long will he be able to stall her…?_ "

"I'll play Holy Grail, destroying your Red Hot Iron Shoes!" she proclaimed, and her Archer was free to attack once again. "Then I'll play Heavenly Feathered Robe, attaching it to your Pouncer!" She thus gained control of Ryuuji's only attacker. Not only that, she regained her Five Challenges from her graveyard.

"I'll end my turn with that." she said, prompting the Dragon to draw and recover. He gained a third Fire Stone.

"I'll summon Loup-Garou, the New Moon and Moon Night Pouncer!" he proclaimed, getting two attackers on his side of the field in one sweep. The first with 900 Attack and Defense Points, the latter with 700 Attack and Defense Points, including the boost from Bloody Moon.

"Since they both have Swiftness, I'll attack you directly with both of them!" She let the Pouncer's Attack get through, which made her Life Points drop to 2100, but she blocked Loup-Garou's attack with her Archer, which got destroyed as a result.

"Your move, Nagisa." he concluded. Nagisa drew and recovered, then rested her Ruler for a second Light Stone.

"First I'll summon two Archers of the Crescent Moon!" she proclaimed, putting on the table her last two Archers.

"Then I'll lay a card face-down, and it's your move, Ryuuji." she concluded, placing a card and passing the turn to her opponent.

" _There's no mistake, that's Five Challenges again..._ " the red-haired duelist thought as he drew and recovered, then, after he rested his Ruler and gained a second Light Stone, his suspicions were confirmed.

"I'll activate my face-down Chant, Five Challenges, allowing me to draw an extra card!" Nagisa proclaimed. After her move resolved, Ryuuji proceeded with his idea for the turn.

"I'll play Basket of Little Red, attaching it to my Pouncer!" he proclaimed, putting an Armor close to the Werewolf monster. It gave the attached Resonator the rest ability to gain an Apple card from the Deck.

"I'll use the Basket's power right away, resting my Chant to get from my deck a Clockwork Apple Bomb!" he continued. It was a Trigger Chant which destroyed a blocking Resonator and a blocked Resonator and inflicted 500 damage to both players.

" _I've never seen that card before..._ " Yoshimitsu thought, watching the duel " _But it looks like a fearsome trap..._ "

"Before I'll end my turn, I'll lay a card face down." he concluded, placing a card, most obviously his newfound Chant. Then, his opponent drew and recovered, then rested her Ruler for a fourth Water Stone.

"I'll play Stone Bowl of Buddha!" she said, putting another Treasury Item Addition on her side of the Field and getting back her Five Challenges from the graveyard. "Then, I'll summon a Knight of the New Moon!" The summon of the defensive Wererabbit rose the power of both Archers to 800/800.

"Then, I'll play Rabbit Kick!" she said, bouncing both of Ryuuji's monsters back to his hand. "Now you're wide open! I'll attack you with both of my Archers!" Since the Dragon couldn't block, his Life Points went down to 2200.

"I'll lay a card face-down, and end my turn." she finally proclaimed, prompting her opponent to draw and recover. He didn't rest his Stones, which meant that he was planning to perform Judgment.

"I'll perform my Ruler's Judgment by discarding a Poison Apple!" he proclaimed, flipping his Ruler "Unleashed your burning rage and make scorching judgement rain on our foes! Step up, Bloody Snow White!" The assault J-Ruler with a power of 1300/1300 as well as Precision appeared on the Field. However, Yoshimitsu hadn't failed to notice a more intuitive way he could have used that Poison Apple.

" _He could have performed the Judgment only by will..._ " he thought " _And then he could have discarded that Poison Apple with Bloody Snow White's revolver ability and destroyed one of her Wererabbits, thus weakening the others..._ "

"I'm not through yet!" Ryuuji continued "I summon Moon Night Pouncer and equip it with another Basket of Little Red!" Once again, he had an attacker with a card gain ability.

" _So that's what Ryuuji was planning..._ " he thought as the red-haired duelist ended the turn, and his opponent drew and recovered. Nagisa didn't rest her Ruler.

"I'll activate my face-down card, Five Challenges!" she proclaimed, drawing an extra card. "Then, I'll summon Swordswoman of the Full Moon! and I'm bouncing your Pouncer back to your hand with her entrance ability!" Once again, the Dragon's attacker got ejected from the Field. Ryuuji began to understand that his defeat was imminent, since the Swordswoman's entrance had rose the Archers' power to 1100. And he couldn't even block since his Bloody Snow White didn't have Flying.

"Now I'll attack you directly with both of my Archers!" since the sum of the Wererabbits' total attack was 2200, the duel ended there, with Nagisa's victory.

"No! Big bro!" Reiya was shocked by seeing his brother defeated.

" _Nagisa-san really is an awesome duelist..._ " Yoshimitsu thought " _Ryuuji was right about her!_ "

"You were swift, but not swift enough." Nagisa said, in a calm tone, with a smile on her face "I must admit, you've got much better than you were the last time we faced each other. It seems you're beginning to put up a resource management strategy, alongside your usual swift strike tactic. Keep it up!"

"Thanks, Nagisa!" he said, then he turned to his excited brother "So, you've seen what a Force of Will duel is like!"

"You're both awesome!" he said, psyched "Too bad you've lost..."

"Hehe, no worries!" Ryuuji said, scratching the back of his head "I still have a lot to learn..."

"And a lot to talk about." Nagisa reminded, as her expression returned serious "We didn't come here just to train. We came here to discuss what could the Omicron Crucis possibly be planning." Ryuuji understood and nodded in response.

"Sorry, Reiya..." he said, in an apologetic tone, patting his brother's head "But I have something important to talk about with my friends..." His little brother's smile was all the answer he needed. Then, he turned to his fair-haired friend. "Hey, Yoshimitsu, would you mind accompanying him back home? I'd feel safer knowing that he's with you, rather than alone..."

"All right." Yoshimitsu nodded "I won't let you down."

"Thank you." the red-haired duelist smiled "I'll tell you about our talk once we're done." He gave him the address and Yoshimitsu exited the bar, taking Reiya with him.

"See you at home!" Ryuuji saw off his brother as he exited the bar with Yoshimitsu. He simply waved back with a radiant smile. Yoshimitsu waved back as well.

"See you at school, Ryuuji!" he smiled. When the bar door closed behind the two of them, the Dragon turned to his teammates, but not without commenting his friend's words.

"Did you really have to remind me?" he said, with a pained expression.

"Ryuuji, focus!" Nagisa called him back to reality.

"Right." Ryuuji replied, before cleaning his throat and speaking again "Have you guys noticed any weird anomalies which might be a signal or a hint of their plans?" Nagisa shook her head.

"Well, I think there should be a gimp increase in the place they choose to settle in..." Daisuke suggested, adjusting his glasses with a shaky hand.

"We can't rely on that alone to understand their location, much less their plans." Nagisa replied, matter-of-factly, before cupping her chin with her fingers "About that, there's something that has been bothering me since the attack at the Yellow Submarine..."

"What is it, Nagisa?" Ryuuji urged her to speak, and so she did.

"Do you remember what Unzari said when she had pitted Mazui against that Hiniku girl?"

"Umm..." Daisuke timidly spoke up "She said she wanted to test her abilities..."

"Exactly!" the Sea Wyvern exclaimed "They're trying to involve her in their mischief. There's a chance they're trying to involve other duelists as well..."

"If that's the case, they should be after Yoshimitsu as well." Ryuuji said "Why the aren't trying to recruit him?"

"Probably because they've already understood that we've already staked our claim." was Nagisa's swift and clear reply "Yoshimitsu-kun is our ally, and their enemy."

"Who could they be trying to recruit, then?" Ryuuji wondered. This was a question that needed an answer as soon as possible.

"It should be a strong duelist..." Daisuke suggested "Strong enough to catch their attention, and also pretty detached, which could make him or her an easy target of deception..."

"Hmmm..." Nagisa mused "I have a young man matching your description, Daisuke, but I'm afraid we'll need Yoshimitsu-kun's help to confirm my suspicions..."

"Why? Who is he?" Ryuuji asked.

"He's the young man who Leviathan-sama had defeated at the finals of the first Card Masters Circuit..." the Sea Wyvern replied "He's the young man who has been concerning Yoshimitsu-kun himself since a couple of days ago… He is Kaito Takahashi."


	19. Chapter 19 Peaceful Walk

Chapter 19: Peaceful Walk

Yoshimitsu was walking with Reiya, accompanying him on his way home. Ryuuji had given him the address, so he was sure of where he was going. The little red-haired boy, wanting to get to know his brother's friend, asked him a question.

"Yoshi-san, have you ever won any tournaments?"

"Err… No." Yoshimitsu replied, blushing a little.

"Eeeeh?" Reiya exclaimed in surprise and disappointed "But big bro has taught you! Come on! You couldn't possibly go badly! Either you won or got the second place!"

"S-Second place." he said, as his blush got slightly redder. Reiya laughed in glee.

"See? There is no way my brother or his friends can lose!" The boy's bold claim made Taka chuckle, and his blush almost disappear.

"Hehe." he said "You really look up to your brother, don't you?"

"Of course I do" he mused, looking up at the sky "He has always been so… How can I say it?"

"Lively?" Yoshimitsu suggested.

"Yes! Lively!" he said "Whenever he's around, he… shines… He makes everyone smile and gives everyone strength. I want to be like him when I grow up."

"You know, Reiya…" Yoshimitsu said, looking up at the sky himself "You remind me of me and my father."

"Huh?" Reiya turned to the fair-haired boy with a perplexed look "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I see my father like you see your brother." he smiled "He's a reference point for me..."

"He's a what?" the little boy asked, not understanding the words his brother's friend had used.

"Oh, sorry." he apologized, then he rephrased his statement with simpler words "I look up to him."

"Ooh, I see." Reiya said, with a smile of his own. "Does he shine as well?"

"To me, yes." Yoshimitsu replied "Maybe in a different way from your brother."

"Oh..." Reiya murmured pensively, then his attention was caught by a man standing in a stand close to the Yellow Submarine.

"Yoshi-san, what is that?" he asked.

"I don't know..." the fair-haired boy replied, in a pensive tone "We should check it out. Perhaps..." With an idea already in his mind, he approached the stand with Reiya, until card packs were clearly visible to the two of them.

" _Of course!_ " he thought " _He's the shop owner! His activity couldn't stop because of a hole in a stop, so he decided to..._ "

"He's selling Force of Will cards!" he voiced his thoughts, and the little boy besides him quickly got pumped up

"Oh wow! Let's go check them out, Yoshi-san!" Yoshimitsu complied and so the two went to the card stand. The vendor noticed them

"Oh, good afternoon!" he jovially greeted "What can I do for you?"

"Oh, hello!" Yoshimitsu replied "We're just here to take a look at the stuff." The vendor smiled as the fair-haired boy began to look at the packs, noticing that starter decks were on sale as well.

" _Starter decks?_ " he thought, surprised " _Reiya would definitely need one to start playing…_ " He took out the cheque he had won at the tournament " _But the cheque I've won at the tournament is worth only 3_ _pa_ _cks,_ _while a starter deck is worth about 4 packs_ _..._ " He thought it over and eventually decided.

"Excuse me, sir!" he called out to the vendor.

"Yes, what can I do for you, sailor?" the man jovially replied.

"Um..." the fair-haired boy asked "Can I have a Force of Will Fire starter deck?"

"Sure!" the vendor answered, with a bright smile "It's 2600 yen, please."

"And three packs, please." Yoshimitsu concluded, putting on the table the money for the deck and his cheque.

"Ooooh!" the vendor was glad to see the cheque "So you're a winner!" the comment made the duelist chuckle in embarrassment and scratch the back of his head "Here are your cards, with a piece of advice."

"What is it?" he asked, perplexed.

"Don't waste your cheques right after you gain them." the vendor suggested "Wait a little before using them, keep winning tournaments and gain them until you have enough to buy a lot of cards." Yoshimitsu nodded, showing that he had understood.

"This advice is on the house!" he said, with a laugh. The joke made the fair-haired duelist laugh as well.

"Thank you, sir!" he smiled. Reiya was slightly confused by the situation.

"Huh?" he asked "What is this all about?" Yoshimitsu turned to him and smiled at him.

"Oh, not much." he replied, showing the Fire starter deck "Just taking a present for my friend's little brother." The little boy's eyes sparkled in seeing the deck.

"C-Can I really have this?" he looked up at him in expectation.

"Sure you can!" Yoshimitsu's smile grew wider "You can't begin playing without cards, after all." Reiya took the deck package in his hands and, after some moments of disbelief, he began jumping up and down in excitement

"Yes! Now I can begin playing like my brother!" Yoshimitsu chuckled in seeing his reaction.

"You should get your brother to teach you first." he remarked. The little boy stopped jumping and nodded in response.

"With my brother's teaching, nothing will stand in my way!" he proudly proclaimed as he put up a glory fist, a gesture which reminded Yoshimitsu of his classmate Zappa Kurosawa. The duelist chuckled, scratching his cheek with his index.

"You can open your packs right away, if you wish!" the vendor suggested, making Yoshimitsu turn back to him.

"Oh, yes, thank you!" he thanked as he approached the stand and put his packs on the stand desk, ready to open them. He gained many noteworthy new cards. Among these, there was a Ruler which, oddly, didn't have any J-Ruler side.

"Huh?" he exclaimed, in disbelief. The Ruler's name was "Grimm, the Fairy Tale Prince", a Light Ruler which allowed to pay for Fairy Tale Resonators with any type of will, removing any type-bound costs. Also, it allowed to switch a Fairy Tale monster in the player's hand for another, once per turn.

"Ooohh! You've found a good Ruler!" the vendor said, with a smile. "It doesn't have a J-Ruler side, but that's okay."

"It is?" the fair-haired boy asked, to which the vendor nodded in response. Relief flooded Yoshimitsu's face. He then walked away from the stand, waving to the kind vendor.

"See you back inside when the hole is patched up!" the man said as Yoshimitsu and Reiya walked in the direction of the latter's home.

"Thank you, Yoshi-san!" the little boy thanked his brother's friend for the special gift he had given him "Thank you so much for the starter pack!" Yoshimitsu smiled in response.

"Say, Reiya..." the fair-haired boy began speaking "For how long have you watched your brother play?"

"Since he had begun playing." Reiya readily replied "It was… About 2 years ago, if I'm not wrong..."

"You've seen his friends play as well, right?" he asked.

"Of course!" the little boy replied "I've got to know them as well!" The statement made Yoshimitsu smile.

"Have you learnt from watching Ryuuji playing?" he asked.

"Um..." Reiya's face reddened a little "I haven't really understood how to play..." Yoshimitsu chuckled in response

"Don't worry. You begin playing and you'll eventually understand." he said. The little boy took in his words, then nodded, with a smile.

"Yoshi-san… Are you really a beginner?" he asked, curiously, making the duelist blush.

"Y-Yes I am. Why do you ask?" Yoshimitsu replied, scratching the back of his head.

"You look like you know more than you say..." Reiya mused "Say, how did you get to know big bro?"

"Well..." he explained "He had come to our class about three days ago, and he asked if I knew the card game." The little boy listened carefully "I did know it, since I have classmates that play it and I've been following the news about it online. Then, he taught me."

"That's awesome!" he exclaimed, joyfully "My brother is always on the run, looking for "potential players"..."

"Yeah, he has told me." Yoshimitsu replied.

"But you… I have a feeling that you might just be the best guy he has found!" The fair-haired duelist chuckled embarrassedly.

"Well, I can't say if he's right, but I'm flattered that you both think this highly of me..." he said, scratching the back of his head "Only time will tell, I guess..." Before noticing, they had already arrived at his house.

"Oh, there it is!" Reiya said, fidgeting with the starter deck in his hands.

" _I'll have to explain to his parents..._ " Yoshimitsu thought as he rang the doorbell. Soon after, a red-haired woman opened the door.

"Reiya! You're back!" she greeted her son joyfully, then turned to the young man accompanying him. "And you are?"

"Oh, my name is Yoshimitsu Hayashi!" he greeted, bowing politely "Nice to meet you, Yamazaki-san."

"Oh, so you're Ryuuji's friend!" the woman said, with a bright smile "He has told us about you. Thank you for accompanying little Reiya here!" Then, she noticed the package the little boy was holding in his hands "What's that, Reiya?"

"A gift from me to him, Yamazaki-san." Yoshimitsu explained "A Fire starter deck, so that he can play like his brother." After some moments of disbelief, the red-haired woman laughed gleefully.

"How kind of you! Thank you!" she turned to her son "Reiya, did you thank Yoshimitsu-kun for the gift?"

"Of course I did, mum!" he nodded vigorously, smiling brightly. The woman chuckled, patting his head, which made him chuckle as well.

"Come on in, then!" he said, heading back to the entrance with him. "Thanks again, Yoshimitsu-kun! I hope to see you again soon!" she waved to the young man with a bright smile.

"Good afternoon, Yamazaki-san!" he waved back as he woman closed the door. Then, he walked back to where he came from.

" _Reiya is at home now, safe and sound._ " he thought, as he walked " _I should go back to the bar and see how the debate is going..._ " And so, he passed by the stand he had been to previously, but, when he turned his eyes towards it, he noticed a familiar-looking raven-haired girl. She had clearly just bought some booster packs. She turned around and she noticed him with her brown, almost rose-hued eyes.

"Uh? Yoshimitsu-kun!" she waved at him, happily.

"Mizuki-san!" he waved back, smiling brightly.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, walking closer to him.

"Oh, I was heading to a meeting with my friends!" he earnestly replied. "What about you?"

"Oh, I just wanted to fetch some packs here." she replied.

"I had taken some too, before." Yoshimitsu said "I've learned a lot from my loss at the tournament, yesterday. I need to work on my deck."

"You were really good in that tournament!" she smiled, making him blush a little.

"Not as good as you!" he replied, making her blush as well.

"Thank you, Yoshimitsu-kun." she chuckled "But I'm not even close to my brother's skill. I still have a long way to go..." A question rose in Yoshimitsu's mind at those words.

"Say, Mizuki-san… When have you begun playing?"

"Oh..." Mizuki answered "I've actually begun two weeks ago..." An answer that left the fair-haired boy surprised.

"And you're already that skilled?" he asked, in disbelief.

"I don't know if I can really be called skilled..." she modestly replied, rubbing her arm. "I've learnt from watching my brother..."

"Oh, I see..." he replied. He half-expected such an answer from her.

"I didn't understand a lot about the game, but I was fascinated..." she explained, rising her thoughtful gaze at the sky.

"Hehe… I felt the same way before I began playing…" he admitted. Then, a question popped up in his head. "When has your brother begun playing?"

"Umm..." Mizuki thought about it, then answered "About a year and a half."

"Wow!" he exclaimed, impressed "He grew rapidly, considering that he participated in the last Card Masters only 6 months later..."

"You have no idea." Mizuki smiled, moving a strand of black hair behind her ear "He had mastered the game in mere weeks!"

"Whoa!" Yoshimitsu exclaimed, gobsmacked. It was really impressive to master a game in weeks. Kaito was quite known in the school for being a genius, probably the best of his class. However, Yoshimitsu couldn't imagine that it extended to games like Force of Will as well.

"I guess it runs in the family..." he mused. The statement made the raven-haired girl blush slightly. She threw her head back and began gazing at the sky above them, already tinged with the warm hue of sunset.

"Beautiful..." she mused, her eyes fixated on the sky above her.

"Huh?" Yoshimitsu tilted his head in confusion.

"The sunset." she continued "No matter how many times you look at it, it still gets you..." Yoshimitsu understood.

"Yeah..." he agreed, looking up as well. They stood silent for some seconds, looking at it.

"Well, I've heard there are better places to look at the sky, here in town..." Yoshimitsu timidly spoke up, in an attempt to break the silence.

"There are?" Mizuki looked at him quizzically, making him blush slightly. "I would like to see them, one day..." she then smiled warmly, making his blush more intense.

"Oh, by the way." she suddenly remembered something "You said you had got some packs here. What did you find?" The fair-haired boy immediately took out his new entries and showed them to his schoolmate.

"Wow..." Mizuki was amazed by the high quality cards Yoshimitsu had managed to find, but one, in particular, caught her eye.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed, gobsmacked "Yoshimitsu-kun, is this…?" Her hand was on Grimm, the newfound Ruler without a Judgment.

"Yeah..." he said, scratching the back of his head "I just got it..."

"It's one of the most wanted cards around!" Mizuki excitedly explained "You're so lucky!"

"It is?" Yoshimitsu asked, slightly taken aback by her amazement.

"Yes! They say it is very versatile, and it doesn't even have a J-Ruler side!" Mizuki continued. The fair-haired boy took her words in, carefully listening.

"Ohh…" he said, when she was finished "But what have you found?"

"The cards I had found were nice..." Mizuki replied "But they weren't very viable with my deck..."

"Oh, I see..." the fair-haired boy said.

"But." Mizuki remarked "Since you gained a Ruler, you might as well change your deck, as well as your strategy! It'll definitely help you score more wins!"

"You think so?" he asked, then he thought about it "Hmmm… Come to think about it, I would have an idea..." The girl couldn't hold back a chuckle in seeing the thoughtful expression her schoolmate had on his face while he was endeavoring in picturing his idea.

"I'm curious to see it, when it will be done." she said. Yoshimitsu turned to her, his face slightly reddened, then, he smiled.

"I'll make sure you'll know as soon as I get it done, Mizuki-san!" he said, making her smile grow wider.

"Hey, Mizuki? Where are you?" a cold male voice made the two youths drop their smiles. It didn't take long for Kaito to notice them, and so he began walking towards them.

"Mizuki, there you are!" he tartly exclaimed "And Hayashi-kun is here as well, I see..." Yoshimitsu's eyes widened in complete surprise.

"T-Takahashi-senpai!" he exclaimed. He simply extended a hand, making him sign to calm down.

"Please, refrain from wasting my sister's time in the future, Hayashi-kun." he said. The fair-haired boy could swear he had heard a hint of menace in his voice, which had made him gulp.

"B-Brother!" Mizuki protested "That's mean!"

"You weren't coming home." Kaito replied, matter-of-factly "And that was because you were talking to him. Let's go home, now." She sadly turned back to her schoolmate.

"I'm sorry, Yoshimitsu-kun." she murmured. Yoshimitsu tried his best to still be happy, hoping that it would cheer her up a little as well.

"It's okay, Mizuki-san." he smiled "Even though I do wish we had more time to talk. I'll still see you tomorrow at school, right?" Mizuki's eyes slightly widened at her schoolmate's bright reply, then, with a smile of her own, she nodded.

"See you tomorrow, then!" she said, then she walked off with Kaito.

"See you tomorrow, Hayashi-kun!" he said as well, in his usual cold tone. Yoshimitsu bowed in response, then eyed the two brothers as they walked off.

" _Takahashi-senpai..._ " he thought " _He gives off a really scary vibe… Even Mizuki-san seems to be sad because of him… Why in the world does he behave like this…?_ " The feeling of something vibrating in his pants snapped him out of his train of thought. He had just received a message on his mobile phone.


	20. Chapter 20: Persistent Pestering

Chapter 20: Persistent Pestering

"So we need to investigate on Takahashi-san and see if the Crucis have been eyeing him?" Daisuke asked at the table at which the Sephiroth Tetragram were still discussing. Nagisa shook her head.

"As long as someone else is preoccupied with that issue, we don't have to handle it ourselves." she said "I know it's a bit cruel to say, but it's also true that Unzari might expect us trying to investigate possible new entries..."

Halfway through his teammate's discourse, Ryuuji noticed something unsettling. A woman in a black dress with an ample matching hat seemed to be watching them through the bar window., with a devilish smirk on her face. The thought alone was enough to make the rad-haired duelist's blood chill. Nagisa took notice of his startled expression

"Ryuuji, what's the matter?" she asked. Her concern was not too visible on her face, but was still there.

"Umm, guys?" he said, his voice slightly quivering, his eyes fixated on the suspicious woman. Nagisa and Daisuke rapidly turned their heads in the direction Ryuuji was looking at, and noticed the woman turning and walking away. They were able to see her smirk before her head was covered by her hat.

"Guys… I think we should call it a day for now..." the red-haired duelist suggested. After a moment of silence, Nagisa nodded.

"Agreed." she said "That woman… She looked suspicious. For as far as we know she might be related to them as well..."

"I'll be messaging Yoshimitsu about it now." Ryuuji said as he fished out his phone and opened the message application. While typing the message, he followed his teammates out of the bar

"Hey Yoshimitsu! Something weird has happened. It looks like a woman in a black dress and with a big, black hat was watching us while we were talking. She looked suspicious and seemed intent on spying us, so we decided to wrap it up there and then. You should go home as well. Be careful, and see you tomorrow at school!" This was the message Yoshimitsu had read on his phone.

"Ok, thank you for telling me, Ryuuji! See you tomorrow!" he typed, heading back home. After having dinner with his parents, he went to bed, with more questions than answers found during the day…

Meanwhile, in the night, three people were meeting in an underground lab. In it were two machines, to which two beds were linked. On the beds stood two pale figures: a muscled bald man and a man who looked like an underground casino owner.

"This guy looks like a Yakuza." one of them, a girl with long dyed red hair, remarked in an annoyed tone "Are you sure this shithead will be our special subject?"

"I'm afraid we are not in the position of questioning our lady's orders, Soaku..." another one, a curly-haired young man, replied, with a tone of lyrical grandeur, which annoyed her even more.

"Do you want to die, Mazui?" she shouted "Shut. Up!" Her outburst scared him.

"Mazui may sound like an idiot, but he's right, Soaku." the last one, a young man with a spiky mask, remarked "It's the old lady who has picked this guy, not us." Soaku rolled her eyes.

"What the hell is going through that old hag's head…?" she said. When she had just finished speaking, the sound of a thick and heavy metal door opening could be heard. An alluring woman in a black dress, with long black hair and deep red eyes, entered the room. Soaku froze, while Mazui respectfully bowed to her

"My lady." the respectful, if not even flattering gesture won a giggle from her.

"Excuse me." the Demon took the word "Unzari and I have taken the liberty of analyzing the kingpin with the machine. It was much easier to get info, since you're the one who killed him..."

"Hm?" the woman made a sound which notified the masked duelist that he had her attention. The sound, however, had also malice in it. The Demon paid no heed to it.

"Are you sure you want to use him?" he continued "It's true that he did introduce gambling with Force of Will in his business, but that doesn't mean he's a capable player."

"Oh, he doesn't need to be, my little Demon..." she replied, with her naughty voice. "That can be arranged. You know what I'm planning to do with him, don't you?" She smirked ever so maliciously. "I want to have some more fun with him..."

The masked duelist didn't need any more words to understand. He moved aside and walked to the door. Mazui and Soaku, having an inkling of the woman's intentions, moved beside him.

"The fuck?" Soaku commented while walking to her leader, as the woman removed her heels.

"Oh..." Mazui spoke up "She's gonna toy with him like a puppet..."

"You two!" the Demon said, in a tone that was both demanding and warning "Out of the room! Now!" As the two obeyed, and the masked duelist followed them, slamming the door behind him, the woman extended her arms sideways and her dress unclasped on it's own and fell on the floor, revealing her luscious body. She bit her lip, slightly moaning as she got on the machine and knelt on the kingpin's dead body, looking at it with lustful eyes…

"Pardon me, my lord." Mazui asked "But why do we need to use the machine, if our lady can do all the work by tampering with the subject?"

"We use the machine to turn corpses into gimps." the Demon replied, matter-of-factly "Then the old lady tampers with its already dead mind and energizes some parts of it, depending on the abilities she wants to give them. That's how all the special gimps were created."

"And she has a blast while doing her thing." Soaku muttered, annoyed "That crazy bitch." Then, she suddenly remembered something, and spoke up "Speaking of bitches, where's the snake bitch?"

"Viper?" Mazui added "Yeah, she's not here..."

"She had messaged me earlier." The masked duelist explained "She's still going after Takahashi-kun."

"That guy again?" Soaku blurted out? "Why is she that intent on getting him on our side? It's pretty obvious that he doesn't give a fuck about us..." she then pointed her thumb to the door close by "And I'm not talking about that fuck..." Mazui held back a chuckle.

"Well, eventually she'll stop trying..." the Demon mused.

That night, Kaito Takahashi was walking in the street, looking in front of him with his inquisitive red eyes. Suddenly, a cobblestone table appeared in front of him, and another one appeared at a short distance from it. The duelist narrowed his eyes in displeasure, understanding right away how it had been possible.

"Hmph. You again." he blurted out in annoyance. "Unzari Taidana." As he pronounced the name, a tanned girl, her skin color slightly pale-hued, dressed like a gothic lolita, showed herself under the street lights.

"You recognized me right away." she said, in a bored tone "Nothing less to be expected from the likes of you, Kaito Takahashi-kun." She finished her sentence with a yawn.

"What do you want from me?" he asked, in an annoyed tone.

"Why, isn't that obvious?" Unzari replied "I want a duel. A duel with you, Takahashi-kun." Kaito tilted his head on the side.

"I don't get you..." he admitted "Why do you always pester me, knowing that I'l crush you any time..." Then, a smirk appeared on his face "Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. After all, it always feels good to destroy people in Force of Will..." Unzari smirked deviously

"And that's why I've got my eye on you." she said, fishing out her deck from her pocket and walking towards her table. Takahashi merely sighed in annoyance.

"But still, you're not just wasting my time, you're wasting yours as well." he coldly said as he was shuffling the cards. Then, they set their Rulers on the table. Unzari's Ruler was Kolbera, the Snake-Charmer Queen, while Kaito's Ruler was Alucard, the Dark Noble, a man in noble clothes, his skin moon pale-hued.

"I'll go first." Unzari said, while drawing her 5 cards.

"Do as you wish." Kaito coldly replied, as he drew his own initial hand. Unzari rested her Ruler and gained a Darkness Stone.

"How unfortunate." she frowned. "I'll have to pass this turn."

"Well, too bad for you." he commented as he drew a card. He then rested his Ruler, gaining a Dark Stone of his own.

"I'll summon Romeo, the Despair!" he proclaimed, slamming on the table his card. A man with skin tinged of a deathly blue, with battered clothes and despairing eyes appeared on the field. It had 300 Attack and Defense, and it could be resurrected upon destruction if Juliet, the Hope was on the Field as well.

"I'll end my turn with that." he said, with 5 cards in his hand, prompting his opponent to draw a card of her own. She then rested her Ruler and gained a Wind Stone.

"I'll summon Elvish Exorcist!" she proclaimed, summoning an elf with hollow green eyes, as if controlled by a will that wasn't her own. "If you had a Servant of Vampire instead of Romeo, it would have been destroyed… Yawn..." she commented.

"How odd of you to yawn when the duel has just begun..." Kaito commented, one brow raised, as his opponent ended her turn with 5 cards in hand, since she wasn't able to use the newly summoned monster. After drawing and recovering, Kaito rested his Ruler and gained a Stone of Heaven's Rift.

"I'll rest both of my Stones to equip Black Coffin of Vampires on your Elvish Exorcist!" he proclaimed "Since it's not a Vampire Resonator, you won't be able to attack or block with it!" A coffin materialized under the Elvish Exorcist, and from it chains came out and wrapped her limbs, immobilizing her.

" _You were planning to block with her and use your Ruler's token-calling ability, weren't you?_ " he thought, a slight smirk making its way on his face " _You should know by now, it'll take more than that to stop me_."

"I'll attack you with Romeo!" he proclaimed, resting his card. The undead man, with a cry of despair, lunged to Viper's table and clawed it, bringing her Life Points down to 3700.

"With that, I'll end my turn." he proclaimed, with 5 cards left in his hand, prompting Unzari to draw and recover. She then rested her Ruler and gained a second Darkness Stone.

"Oooh, nice!" she smirked "Now it's time I summon an old friend of ours… The Dervish Count!" The well known black-caped undead entered the field with his 600 Defense Points and 0 Attack Points. But Kaito knew all too well the ability replacing those missing Attack Points.

" _She's planning to get back at me by banishing her Elvish Exorcist and inflicting me damage equal to its_ _Defense_ _Points..._ " he predicted.

"Then, I'll summon Rukh!" she proclaimed, as the multicoloured eastern bird appeared on the field, with its 300 stats.

"Lastly, I'll use Dervish Count's ability!" she proclaimed."I'll banish my Elvish Exorcist, along with its attached Armor, to inflict you 500 points of direct damage!" The Elvish Exorcist was consumed by the dark spell of the Dervish Count, along with the coffin that was trapping her, and became a bolt of darkness that struck Kaito's table, his Life Points brought down to 3500.

"Since I can't do anything else now, it's **yawn** your turn." She had 4 cards in her hand, when Kaito drew his own. He rested his Ruler and gained a Darkness Stone.

" _She's trying to put pressure on me._ " he thought " _I could easily get rid of that bird, by resting my Ruler for reducing a target Resonator's Defense Points by 300, but that would have meant giving her more of a will advantage..._ "

"I'll summon Vampire's Staff!" he proclaimed. A little vampiric girl with long hair and ample wings, dressed in elegant clothes, befitting of a noble, appeared on the Field and smiled, showing her fangs. "You're not the only one capable of inflicting indirect damage, Taidana! You'll know what I mean soon enough." The statement perked up the goth girl's interest.

"Then, I'll summon Servant of Vampire!" A winged monster with big fangs and long, curved horns appeared on the field, growling. It had 200 Attack and Defense Points, along with a peculiar ability "If you want to hit the Staff with one of your magic cards, you'll have to get through this first!" Unzari slightly narrowed her eyes in displeasure.

"Then, I'll attack with Romeo!" The despairing man lunged once again at Viper's table, striking it and taking her Life Points down to 3400.

"I'll end my turn with that." he said, with 4 cards left in his hand. As he pronounced those words, she drew and recovered, then rested her Ruler for a Stone of Black Silence.

"I'll summon an Elvish Exorcist!" she said, as another elvish girl with lifeless eyes appeared on the field "I would try destroying your Staff, but I guess Servant of Vampire will do, too..." The girl rose her exorcist torch in the air as it fired a blue flame that reached the vampiric monster and scorched it.

" _I've blown my chances of playing many of the cards I have right now..._ " Unzari thought. " _No matter, I'll just proceed with the attack._ "

"I'll attack with Rukh!" she proclaimed, resting her card. The multicoloured bird flew towards Kaito's table and struck it with its claws, making his Life Points drop to 3200 and a white snake appear on Unzari's side of the field. "Then, I'll attack with Dervish Count, banishing my Rukh!" With the caped undead's darkness burst, Kaito's Life Points dropped again, to 2900.

"My turn is done, yawn..." she said, in her typical lazy tone, with 4 cards left in her hand. Kaito drew and recovered right away. But he didn't do just that.

"During my recovery phase my Staff's effect activates." he proclaimed, revealing the first card of his deck. Unzari stared at it intently. It was Carmilla, the Queen of Vampires, a cost-4 Resonator.

"This is the card I'll be drawing in my next turn." he said "It costs two Darkness wills and two generic wills. The Staff will inflict you 100 damage for any will-bound cost, and give me as much Life Points. That means it will inflict you 200 damage and give me 200 Life Points!" he smirked while the Staff moved her arm towards Unzari and the shadow under her moved to her table and, once it had reached it, became spiky like it was trying to pierce it. Unzari's Life Points went down to 3200, while Kaito's Life Points went up to 3100, making the two opponents almost even. He then rested his ruler for a third Darkness Stone. He knew he could do something with the cards he had in his hand.

"First, I'll equip a Black Coffin of Vampires on your Dervish Count!" he said, resting two of his four wills to perform the action. Instantly, the coffin appeared under the undead and chained it. Unzari could do nothing but narrow her eyes in displeasure as her main indirect attacker was made completely useless. "Then, I'll summon Cinderella, the Ashen Maiden." As he pronounced those words, a maiden in a long, black, slightly battered dress appeared on the Field. She had 400 Attack and Defense Points.

" _If I attacked now with either Romeo or the Staff, her Exorcist would be ready to block..._ " he thought " _All I would have done would be giving her a defender and lose a unit..._ "

"Your move, creep." he said, with 3 cards in his hand, prompting his opponent to draw, recover, then rest her Ruler for a second Wind Stone. A slight smirk made its way on her face.

"I'll summon Snake Whisperer!" she proclaimed, as a man with a basket appeared on the field. There was a black anaconda in the basket. The new Resonator had 700 Attack and Defense.

" _I've never seen that monster before..._ " Kaito thought, but he realized how bothersome it really was when 4 white snakes appeared on the field as well.

"Once he's summoned, Snake Whisperer will summon 2 Snake Tokens." Unzari explained, her unsettling smirk slightly wider.

" _That card is dangerous._ " the black-haired duelist thought " _It's perfectly viable with her deck strategy..._ "

"It looks like you've learned some new tricks, Taidana." he remarked.

"Yes." the goth girl confirmed "Also, I still have my old tricks. Menacing, isn't it? Say goodbye to your Vampire's Staff!" she summoned a second hollow-eyed Elvish Exorcist, whose exorcism torch scorched in blue flames Kaito's Staff. He appeared calm and collected, but he was highly alert.

"I'll attack with my first Elvish Exorcist." she said, as the hollow-eyed elf girl lunged towards Kaito's table and struck it with her flaming exorcism torch, his Life Points going down to 2600 and another snake token appearing on Unzari's side of the Field.

"With that, I'll end my turn." she said, with 3 cards in her hand. Kaito drew his own, then rested his Ruler for a second Heaven's Rift.

" _She has too many monsters on her side of the field._ " he thought " _However, I have a card which can make short work of her pesky snakes..._ "

"I'll play Noble's Will!" he proclaimed, as Alucard flashed a piercing glare towards his opponent's Resonators with his blood-red eyes. "Normally it would cost 2 wills to play this card, but, since I have Alucard as my Ruler, it only costs 1 will to play it! All of your tokens are destroyed!"

Unzari narrowed her eyes as her opponent's Ruler opened his cape and a dark portal seemed to appear underneath it, bats flying out of it. The bats lunged towards the snakes and bit them with their abnormally long and sharp fangs, killing them instantly. After snuffing the life out of their preys, the bats looked at Alucard, who, after some time, shook his head in refusal. The loyal servants obediently returned under their vampiric lord's cape as the snakes' dead bodies rapidly turned to dust.

"Of course, I'm not through yet." the black-haired duelist smirked "Let's proceed. I'll play Stoning to Death on your Whisperer!" Instantly, a barrage of black stones shattered the Human Resonator, along with his basket. "Then, I'll play a second Black Coffin of Vampires on your recovered Elvish Exorcist!" he proclaimed, as a coffin appeared under the elven girl and chained her.

"Then I'll have both Romeo and Cinderella attack you!" he proclaimed. First, the despairing undead lunged at the goth girl's table and struck it, making her Life Points drop to 2800, then Cinderella threw a knife imbued with dark aura, which struck her table and made her Life Points drop once more to 2400.

"Since Cinderella has managed to land a hit on you, I get to search for a Prince Resonator in my Deck." he said, as he searched for a card in his deck. Once he had found it, he picked it and put it on his table face-down, then shuffled his deck and placed it back in its place, then revealed the card he had found. It was Deadman Prince, a Resonator with 500 Attack and Defense, which allowed its player to put a Resonator from the graveyard in his hand upon entrance. He put it in his hand and ended his turn with 3 cards in his hand. Unzari drew and recovered, then rested her Ruler for a Darkness Stone. She smirked menacingly, having an idea to try out.

"Let me show something new, Takahashi-kun..." She giggled, a bit darkly, then she proudly proclaimed "I'll summon Medusa, the Thousand-Headed Snake!" A woman with snake skin, snakes for hair and blood-red eyes appeared on the field. It was a cost 5 Resonator with 1000 Attack and Defense. A swarm of snakes appeared beside her as she flashed a predatory smile.

"She summons 4 snake tokens upon entrance!" Viper explained, with her unsettling smirk still on her face. Kaito stiffened, despite his poker face still holding. "5, if we count the attack that is coming up from my Elvish Exorcist!" she continued. Kaito decided not to block, and so, when the elven girl lunged towards the table, she found no obstacle in making his Life Points drop down to 2100. After the attack, more white snakes appeared on Unzari's side of the field.

"With that, I'll end my turn." she said, with 3 cards in her hand, prompting him to draw and recover, then rest his Ruler and gain a fourth Darkness Stone.

"First off, I'll play Noble's Will." he proclaimed "I believe you know what comes next." Unzari narrowed her eyes as Alucard opened his cape, and his bats made short work of her snakes. Then, once they finished their work, they looked at their master, who bared his fangs and licked them. This time, Unzari's eyes widened in surprise as blood-red threads linked to the snakes' dead bodies and dragged them under Alucard's cape, where the bats returned as well. Kaito chuckled, feeling confident.

"I forgot to mention." he smirked. "If my Ruler is Alucard and I have 3 cards or less in my hand, I get to draw until I have 6 upon using this little jewel of a card." He then proceeded to make his next move. "Then, I'll summon the Undead Prince I had plucked from the deck in my previous turn." A man dressed in prince clothes appeared on the field, his skin tinged of a deathly blue, like Romeo's. "When it enters the field, I get a monster from my graveyard back to my hand. I choose Vampire's Staff!" he said as he picked the card from his graveyard and showed it to his opponent "And I'll summon it to the field." Once again, the vampire girl was on the field.

" _I could try attacking her..._ " the black-haired duelist thought " _But I would be exposing myself to retaliation without inflicting too much damage… If I didn't attack, on the other hand, I would put pressure on her..._ "

"It's your move." he said, with 5 cards in his hand. Unzari drew and recovered right away, then rested her Ruler for a second Black Silence. Her face appeared calm and collected (and bored and sleepy) as usual, however she was heavily thinking about what to do.

" _Many of the cards I have in my hand involve summoning or improving snakes..._ " she thought " _It would be too risky to use them against Kaito in his actual state. He might have very well drawn another anti-token card..._ " Finally, she decided.

"I'll play Spiral of Despair." she said, as the ghost of a sad girl appeared in front of Kaito. "You'll have to discard two cards." He looked at his hand and chooses which cards to discard. After he had performed his actions, the ghost disappeared.

"Hopefully I had hindered his strategy..." she thought "He seems to be using many low-cost cards which will prove to be a major problem in the long run." To keep herself safe, she ended her turn there, with 3 cards in her hand, prompting her opponent to draw and recover.

"The Staff's ability triggers!" he said, as he plucked his next turn's draw from his deck and showed it to his opponent. It was Resurrection of Vampire, a cost 4 Chant with Quickcast which could directly call a Vampire from the graveyard to the field. "The dark wills needed to use this card are 2." The Staff extended her arm and her shadow reached Unzari's table and "stabbed" it, making her Life Points drop to 2200, and Kaito's Life Points go up to 2300. He was now 100 Life Points over his opponent. He didn't rest his Ruler for Stones, which was a clear sign of impending Judgment.

"First, I'll equip Slipper of Cinderella to Vampire's Staff." he proclaimed. It was an Armor which gave 600 power to the Resonator it was equipped to if it had 400 basic Attack and Defense points. Otherwise, the Armor would have drained the monster's power by 400. Since the Staff fulfilled this condition, it became a 1000/1000 Vampire.

"And next, I'll play Bloodsucking Impulse!" he proclaimed. It was a Quickcast Chant. "I'll have my Staff suck your Medusa's blood!" the vampiric girl's eyes became blood-red with bloodlust, and he swiftly lunged at Viper's monster and voraciously bit its neck, sucking its blood until nothing but a snake-skinned husk was left. "I'll gain as many Life Points as my Staff's attack points." Unzari's eyes widened in surprise as she saw Kaito's Life Points rise up to 2700.

"I'm not through yet." he continued "I'm equipping another Slipper on Cinderella!" The Ashen Maiden became a 1000/1000 powerhouse as well.

"And now, it's time for my Ruler to reveal his true form!" he proclaimed, ready to perform his Ruler's Judgment. The action required Kaito controlling a Vampire and a monster leaving Unzari's side of the field. Since both of the conditions were fulfilled, a Judgment without any will cost could be performed "Awaken and feast on this world! Feast to your heart's content, Dracula, the Demonic One!" Alucard morphed in a burlier and more menacing vampiric being. The front of his cape tore open, revealing strong muscles, and his nails became claws. His fangs became longer and sharper, and his eyes were deep red. It had 1000 Attack and Defense Points, as well as Flying and Imperishable. The latter ability meant that the J-Ruler, once destroyed, could perform Judgment once again, without becoming astral. Unzari tensed up, despite her expression maintaining a bored vibe.

"And now, I'll attack with Cinderella!" The Ashen Maiden threw a knife, imbued with more dark aura than before, at Unzari's table.

"I'll block with my Elvish Exorcist!" she proclaimed, as the elven girl intercepted the knife and shattered, some tears of pain rolling down her cheeks from her otherwise still hollow eyes while she did. A white snake appeared on the goth girl's side of the field.

"You're wide open now! I'll attack you with the Staff and Romeo!" he proclaimed, with a smirk. The vampiric girl spread her wings, flew to Unzari's table and struck it, making her Life Points drop to 1200, then Romeo attacked and dropped them to 900.

"My turn's finished." he said, with only one card left in his hand, prompting the goth girl to draw and recover. However, she didn't rest her Ruler for Stones, which gave away that she was planning to perform Judgment as well. She smirked devilishly, as a wicked glint could be seen in her usually uninterested gaze.

"Few people can push me this far like you, Takahashi-kun..." she sinisterly murmured."First, I'll perform my Ruler's Judgement! May the world squirm in terror before you, Semiramis, the Queen of Deception!" Viper flipped her Ruler card and Semiramis appeared in all of her terrifying glory, bearing her 1200 Attack and Defense Points.

" _Her J-Ruler is stronger than Dracula..._ " Kaito didn't fail to notice.

"Then I'll summon a Snake Whisperer from my hand!" she proclaimed, as another human with a flute and a basket containing an anaconda appeared on her side of the field, along with two more snake tokens. She had managed to fill her field up again, however her opponent looked hardly impressed. Unable to do anything else, the goth girl ended her turn there, with 3 cards in her hand. When he drew his card, Kaito smirked in seeing it. Then, the Staff's ability triggered, revealing a Spiral of Despair of his own and thus dropping Viper's Life Points down to 700 and raised her opponent's Points to 2900.

"I'm sorry, Taidana." he said, with that cheeky grin still on his face. "But you're the one who's about to lose now. I'll play Noble's Will!" Dracula's eyes glowed red as his cape spread and bats came out of it, slaying the snakes. Then, the snakes' corpses were sucked in the cape while the bats returned in it. Kaito drew until his hand was made up of 6 cards.

"Then, I'll summon Carmilla, the Queen of Vampires!" he proclaimed as a woman dressed in regal clothes, looking similar to Semiramis, but much paler, and with vampiric fangs and enormous bat wings. She had 800 Attack and Defense, but it wasn't all that she had. "Upon entrance, she destroys a Resonator on your side of the field! I'll choose your Snake Whisperer!" The regal vampire lady lunged at the powerless human and bit his neck, sucking his blood until the last drop. Once she had finished her feast, Carmilla licked her fangs in satisfaction while the lifeless corpse of her prey fell to the ground. However, it didn't disappear.

"Huh?" Unzari, not knowing what that could possibly mean, looked at the field, her eyes slightly widened in surprise.

"Oh, right." Kaito said, still smirking "If the target of Carmilla's ability is a Human, then it is revived on my side of the field as a Vampire Resonator!" as the duelist had finished explaining, the corpse rose up, with a pale tinge on its skin and with vampiric fangs, then teleported on Kaito's side of the field. Unzari's eyes narrowed in displeasure.

" _That means..._ " she thought. " _I only have Semiramis to protect me from his monsters… And even a hit from one of his strongest monsters is enough to wipe my Life Points..._ " Realizing the inevitability of her defeat, she slightly lowered her head in resignation.

"Now, Dracula! Finish her off!" Kaito exclaimed, his arrogant smirk still lingering. The Demonic One lunged at her table and clawed it with great force, reducing her Life Points to 0 and putting an end to the duel.

"I told you, didn't I?" Kaito said, while the cobblestone tables vanished. "You can't beat me." In response, Unzari giggled.

"You're incredible..." she murmured, slowly raising her head "I expected nothing less from the National Champion of Force of Will… But..." the black-haired duelist had a feeling about what she wanted to talk about, and his scarlet-hued eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Doesn't "National" feel a tad too small for you?" she continued on "Imagine what chance we could give you if you just joined us. We're fighting the same enemy, after all. You could have the world in the palm of your hand and vent your anger on it as you please."

"Shut. Up." an annoyed Kaito demanded in a tone which left no room for argument. Unzari immediately stop talking, still with her smirk on her face.

"You're so annoying! You know what my answer will be!" he continued, tartly "Thanks, but no thanks!" Unzari seemed to slightly pout, but it was most likely a trick played on his eyes by the street lights, he thought.

"It's true, we do have a common enemy, but, while your concern is much appreciated, what I don't appreciate is that you think you're like me." he continued, while the goth girl slightly tilted her head to the side. "I would rather destroy whoever is stupid enough to face me with my own strength, and I have my own reasons, which drive me to victory. I don't need your mystical crap or those weird tattoos of yours..." He began to turn around, with all intents to walk away.

"If I have to be blunt, you're more of a killjoy than anything else to me. How am I supposed to "vent my anger" if there's no one else to play with? So, stop bothering me. Good night, Taidana." Kaito walked away at a moderate pace. After some time, Unzari walked in the opposite direction. However, despite the failure in bringing the black-haired duelist to her side, she was still smirking.

" _Kaito Takahashi-kun..._ " she thought " _Well, the Demon definitely can't say I haven't tried. But… I have a feeling that he will still make the job easier for us, no matter whose side he's on…_ " Her smirk slightly widened while she headed back to the base, where her teammates were waiting for her.

" _After all, he is on no one else's side but his own..._ "


	21. Chapter 21: Concern for a Classmate

Chapter 21: Concern for a Classmate

The following day, Hiniku Kashikoi woke up. She had got to rest that night. However, the events of the previous day still lingered in her mind. After the usual morning routine, she yawned as she went downstairs, where her parents were waiting for her.

"Good morning, Honey-chan!" her mother cheerfully said, using the famous trick invented by her family to make sure she was fully awake: calling her the way they knew she was annoyed by.

"Don't call me like that." she replied, in her ever so familiar gruff tone, which earned a smile from both of them. She then sat and had breakfast with her family.

"So, what's the juice?" her father asked.

"There' s not much to say, really." the short girl replied, calmly.

"Come on, there must be something." the man insisted.

"How did yesterday's tournament look to you?" Hiniku's mother asked.

"Oh, that?" she replied "It was fair enough. I've learnt a lot from it." she replied, a slight smile of confidence appearing on her face.

"Oh, I'm glad to hear that!" the woman said, a smile of her own gracing her features.

"With that, there's no way our little cinnamon roll will lose again!" her husband added, smiling as well. The statement irritated Hiniku.

"Don't talk to me like that." the short girl tartly replied "I'm not a child anymore, you know? And of course I won't lose again." Her reaction gained her a chuckle from her parents, to which she merely sighed in response. She then moved towards the door.

"Well then, I'm off!" she said as she went out the door.

"Take care!" both of her parents said as she headed to school, putting on her signature plastic elven ears while walking.

"That's our girl..." her mother sighed, a sweet smile still on her face. "As prideful as ever.". Her father chuckled at the statement. Eventually, Hiniku arrived at Makuhari High School and sat in her class. The day appeared to be ordinary and the classes were, as usual, child's play for the elf-eared girl. However, inside her mind, the words Yoshimitsu had told her seemed to linger.

" _That piglet… Does he really have that much time to worry about me?_ " she thought. She closed her eyes and slightly shook her head.

Then, classes ended, and lunchtime came. She went out of the classroom and headed to the library, where she liked to eat her lunch. As she walked through the corridor, she heard a voice greeting her from behind her.

"Oh hi, Hiniku-san!" It was the unmistakable, irritating voice of Renbo Aichaku. Hiniku softly grunted in response and quickened her pace. This time, Ren merely sighed, watching as she went on.

Meanwhile, Yoshimitsu Hayashi had just reached the cafeteria and was queuing to fetch his meal. The morning had gone smoothly for him as well, and now he was looking forward to have a good chat with his friends. Once he got his food, he reached the table at which his classmates Zappa Kurosawa and Ryuuji Yamazaki were sit.

"For real?" the spiky-haired boy was asking his redhead classmate, surprise was clearly visible on his face "That's crazy!"

"This is no walk in the park, y'know?" Ryuuji replied, his expression much more serious. Yoshimitsu was wondering what the two teens were talking about when they noticed him.

"Oh, Wazzup, Yoshi!" Zappa cheerfully greeted his friend.

"Hey, Yoshimitsu!" Ryuuji greeted, as well, with a smile on his face "Have a seat!". The fair-haired youth, of course, was more than happy to oblige.

"So, how are you two doing?" he casually asked.

"Oh, I don't have much to say." Zappa replied, then pointed to his classmate, with a big grin plastered on his face "But Yamazaki has a crazy story to tell!"

"I've already told you, this is serious!" Ryuuji said, somewhat annoyed by the spiky-haired boy's antics. From that statement, Yoshimitsu could understand that his red-haired classmate and mentor had brought up an important issue.

"What were you talking about, Ryuuji?" he asked.

"We were talking about what happened yesterday..." Ryuuji seriously replied. "When that strange woman came close to the bar..." Yoshimitsu was at attention, a shiver running down his own spine.

"She looked more than suspicious. You might not believe me, but she looked… Evil, even more so than the Omicron themselves!" he continued.

"More?" Yoshimitsu exclaimed in utter surprise "Does that mean she could be a threat even greater than the Omicron?"

"I don't know..." the red-haired duelist shook his head "But it may very well be..." The boy stood silent, as the words sunk in.

" _A threat even worse than the Omicron Crucis?_ " he thought, visibly frightened.

"It's crazy, right?" Zappa remarked, making Ryuuji frown at him.

"I'm glad you still hadn't come back when she showed up..." the red-haired duelist said "I don't know what she was up to..." It was then that he remembered something he had to ask his friend about.

"Say, have you met someone you knew while you were with my brother?" he asked.

"Well, yes..." Yoshimitsu replied, awkwardly scratching the back of his head, a slight blush appearing on his face. "I've met Mizuki-san. She had bought some cards from the Yellow Submarine's vendor and, since I had bought some there as well, we talked about our new entries." His blush became a little more intense when he noticed that Ryuuji and Zappa were looking at each other with a smirk on their faces. Before he turned back to his friend, the red-haired duelist nodded to Zappa, who nodded back.

"Say, what did she find?" he asked.

"Umm… Nothing viable with her deck, apparently..." Yoshimitsu replied, a bit awkwardly.

"I see..." Ryuuji said "And what did you find?"

"Oh, I found some new cards..." the fair-haired boy replied "Including a Ruler without a Judgment. It was Grimm, the Fairy Tale Prince..." His answer made both Ryuuji and Zappa gasp in surprise, leaving him a bit shocked by their reaction.

"That card is one of the most wanted around! You lucky bastard!" Zappa exclaimed.

"That's awesome!" Ryuuji said, with a big grin on his face "I could totally see you using that Ruler! After all, you have quite a bit of Fairy Tales of your own, right?"

"Y-Yeah, I do..." Yoshimitsu replied, making his classmates chuckle.

"Oh, speaking of which..." Ryuuji suddenly inquired "Have you really bought Reiya a Fire Starter Deck?" Yoshimitsu's reply was quick.

"Yes, I did. He didn't ask me. It was a choice of my own." Ryuuji took in his friend's words, and then let out a gleeful laugh. Yoshimitsu was slightly confused.

"You're awesome, man!" the red-head exclaimed, then he fished out his wallet "I should have enough money here..."

"Oh!" Yoshimitsu quickly understood what his friend was up to and tried to stop him "Don't worry, Ryuuji! There's really no need to-" He stopped talking when Ryuuji grabbed his hand.

"I insist." he said as he shoved the money in the fair-haired youth's hand. It was the exact amount needed to buy the starter pack.

"Th-thank you..." Yoshimitsu stuttered, blushing beet red in embarrassment. Ryuuji chuckled.

"No, thank you!" he replied. Zappa was laughing as well.

"Same old Yoshi." he commented "Can't ever stop being kind."

"Z-Zappa!" Yoshimitsu retorted, still blushing.

"That would help you a lot with the ladies, y'know?" Ryuuji suggested, making his friend lower his head in embarrassment.

"Oh yeah!" Zappa suddenly remembered "How's it going with Takahashi-san? I can see that there's a feeling between you two..." The statement made Yoshimitsu's eyes widen and his head rise up, and the spiky-haired boy's mischievous smile certainly didn't help.

"Zappa! Knock it off, please!" he said, in a desperately embarrassed tone.

"Right!" Ryuuji said "You two seem to be getting closer, aren't you?" A mischievous smile made its way on his face as well, making Yoshimitsu feel all the more uneasy.

"C-Come on, guys..." he turned his gaze away, hoping that his blush would vanish. Ryuuji and Zappa couldn't help but chuckle.

"Sorry, man." the former said, his expression slowly returning serious. "Seriously though, what do you think of her, and of her brother?" Yoshimitsu eventually recomposed himself, while Zappa began daydreaming about his idol.

"Oh, Oni-sama, how much I, Zappa Kurosawa, would be honored to face off with you..." he began chanting. Yoshimitsu's expression, on the other hand, was more thoughtful. He then sighed and gave a clean answer to Ryuuji's question.

"Well… Mizuki-san really is a sweet girl..." The first part made his red-haired friend grin from one ear to the other "But her brother's treatment of her seemed a bit harsh to me..." At those words, the grin vanished, and Ryuuji stood at attention. "I swear I could see rage in his eyes whenever I saw him, even though he seems calm enough..."

"Rage, huh?" Rayearth mused "That's the exact same thing the boss had seen in his eyes when he had faced him in the Card Masters Circuit..." Yoshimitsu listened intently "I don't know what's his problem, but one thing's for sure: he's ice-cold and definitely not one to talk. I'd guess he comes from a rich family..."

"I don't think that all rich people are like that..." Yoshimitsu replied. He wasn't happy with the use of a stereotype to describe the upperclassman.

"Yoshimitsu, remember when I said that he wasn't related in any way with the Omicron Crucis?" Ryuuji asked. The fair-haired youth nodded in response. "Well, I might have been wrong. Even though he doesn't seem to be part of them, it might be that they're trying to get him on their side, just like they're doing with that Hiniku girl..." Zappa gasped in realization.

"Of course!" he exclaimed "They couldn't possibly let a super strong duelist like him pass them by!" Yoshimitsu thoughtfully lowered his gaze.

"There's a chance he might be too self-absorbed to join their team..." Ryuuji mused. "Even Hiniku might have actually joined them if she wasn't so prideful." That statement made Yoshimitsu lift his head back up.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Zappa interrupted "They're trying to get on their side Kashikoi-san?"

"Yes, Zappa." Yoshimitsu replied.

"Well, I think it was pretty obvious that they wanted her." Ryuuji added "She must have made an impression on them by beating Soaku and Mazui."

"She has put herself in trouble..." Yoshimitsu mused, in a tone full of concern, his mind going back to the conversation he had with her after the tournament two days earlier. Ryuuji and Zappa looked at him.

"Um, yeah." the latter uncertainly spoke up "You seem pretty concerned about Kashikoi-san… Why is that?"

"Zappa!" Yoshimitsu scowled, since he seemed to show indifference with that statement.

"Hey!" Ryuuji exclaimed, since he had got the same idea "You try not being worried when a classmate of yours is in a pinch like this!"

"N-Not what I meant!" Zappa hurriedly began explaining "I mean, even though she's our classmate, she has always been cold to you, or weird at best, and yet, Ryuuji told me, you even went through the trouble of scolding her. She doesn't really consider you a friend, but you do… What makes you have such trust in her?"

"Well, that's because she's my classmate." Yoshimitsu earnestly replied. "What you said is true, Zappa, but still, I see her everyday, sitting in the class with us, and I know that she likes games, like me, and you, and Renbo-kun!" Ryuuji smiled, hearing his friend's words.

"Come to think of it, she acts weird with Ren too, and he knows her more than I do!" Zappa objected. "She really is an odd one."

"And reckless." Rayearth added "And that's exactly why she needs someone to check on her, and maybe even teach her a lesson. Honestly, I couldn't think of a better person than you for it." He reinforced his statement with a pat on the fair-haired youth's shoulder.

"R-Really?" Yoshimitsu timidly replied.

"Of course!" the red-head confirmed, with a smile on his face. "When I first met her at the Yellow Submarine, I didn't think you thought this good of her, since she was embarrassing you."

"Y-Yeah, she was, but still!" Yoshimitsu objected. Ryuuji nodded in response, his expression turning serious.

"She's in danger as much as everyone else, maybe even more so." he said. "She needs friends by her side, even though it doesn't seem she'll admit it so easily." The fair-haired duelist nodded.

"We're counting on you to keep an eye on her, Yoshimitsu." he concluded, with a small smile, earning a more uncertain nod from his friend. "Also, if you manage to get something about Oni, let us know!" His friend nodded again.

After lunch, the fair-haired youth's thoughts were to trace back that conversation. Hiniku had put herself in a situation bigger than herself, and he felt he had to help her whenever possible, but he wasn't fully sure he could help, or live up to Ryuuji or the Tetragram's expectations.

" _Am I really up to the task...?_ " he thought.

Meanwhile, Hiniku was heading back to the class as well. Once she had arrived to the stairs, she met her classmate Yoshimitsu there.

"Oh, hello Hiniku-san!" he greeted her with a smile. Baffled by the friendly gesture and unsure how to react, she merely hummed in reply as she went on her way. The fair-haired youth followed. Not knowing exactly what to say, he decided to stay quiet. The short girl, on the other hand, had her mind fixated on the words he had left her.

" _Did he really mean it?_ " she thought, for a moment. But it was plain to see that his classmate wasn't the type to tell lies at all. Not about such things, at least. Finding herself at a standstill, she put the question aside once they both arrived to the classroom.

" _No time to think about that._ " she thought.


	22. Chapter 22: Watched

Chapter 22: Watched

The remainder of the classes appeared to go as good as usual, but there was something odd. Something that Hiniku definitely didn't like. She felt like something was watching her, and it wasn't someone in the classroom. She reluctantly did something she had never done before.

She looked through the window at her left, and she saw a young man walking in the school courtyard. He could see her through the window if he looked. He was wearing a white and purple spike-edged mask, and he was giving her a bad feeling. She kept looking at him as he walked away, and she could swear she could see the Omicron Crucis' signature Spirograph tattoo on his arm.

" _They're still bothering me..._ " she understood quickly, her hands balling in fists under her desk.

"Kashikoi!" suddenly her teacher called her back "Pay attention! This information will be in the History test that will be held in three days!"

"Oh! My apologies!" she quickly replied with a slight bow, her mind cast on the lesson once again. For the most part, at least. Although she tried her best to hide it, the sighting of the masked man had put her on high alert. Yoshimitsu didn't fail to notice this.

" _Has she seen something through that window?_ " he wondered " _She seems tense..._ " The remaining classes for the day eventually came to an end, and Yoshimitsu tried to approach her as they went out of the classroom, heading to the school gates.

"Um… Hiniku-san?" he timidly asked. The short girl made her best to hide her tension as she nonchalantly turned to him, fiddling with her plastic elf ear as usual.

"Yes, piglet?" she said "What do you want?"

"A-Are you okay?" he asked.

"Do I look like I'm sick or something to you?" she replied, matter-of-factly, feigning her usual tranquillity.

"Umm, no, but..." the fair-haired youth uncertainly replied, scratching his cheek with his index finger.

"Well, there's your answer." she concluded, hoping that her classmate would stop attempting to talk to her. Unfortunately for her, that wasn't the case.

"Um… W-why were you looking at the window?" he continued "Did you see something?"

"I did it by impulse." she lied, averting her gaze "I was beginning to space out." Yoshimitsu wasn't too sure about that reply.

"Did something catch your attention?" he asked, hoping to get an answer that would hint at something.

"There was this little bird which had flown in the trees of the courtyard..." she replied "It was a pigeon. Like me! Chirp, chirp!" Yoshimitsu confusedly stared at her, until she began giggling. Her sudden mood shift made the fair-haired boy even less certain about what was going on.

"Farewell piglet, see you tomorrow." she said, as calmly as ever "And make sure you're prepared for Thursday's History test!"

"Yeah… Sure..." he said, uncertainly, as she walked away, giggling to herself.

" _Whew, I needed that. Thanks, piglet._ " she thought. That little exchange with her classmate had made her day and had distracted her from what she had really seen through that window. Eventually, Yoshimitsu recovered from the surprise and resumed walking.

" _Hiniku-san..._ " he thought, casting his gaze downwards " _This isn't the time to be stubborn now..._ " The conversation he had with his friends during lunch break was etched in his mind. He knew that the Omicron Crucis might very well be after her, and he knew he had to do something to help her.

" _But what?_ " That was the problem.

Those thoughts lingered in his head as he left the school and headed home.

"I'm back!" he said, as he entered.

"Welcome back, Yoshimitsu!" her mother smiled. She had been waiting for him. However, her smile dropped as she saw the doubtful look on her son's face.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"Oh, yes, I am." he replied, with a faint smile, not making much of an effort to change his looks. "But..."

"What's the matter?" his mother insisted, getting increasingly worried.

"Mom..." he continued, sitting on the sofa and looking in her eyes. "Do you recall when the Yellow Submarine was attacked by that robotic gimp?"

"Yes." the woman nodded "It was last Thursday. What happened? Have you seen that thing again?" she asked, in a concerned tone. Her son shook her head.

"No." he said "I didn't. But a classmate of mine might be."

"A classmate?" she asked, waiting for her son to tell her who this classmate was.

"Well, she's one of the best students in our class." the fair-haired youth explained "She's into games, like me and my friends, but she can be a bit weird, and cocky. She was with us when the shop was attacked, and she's been trying to understand where that gimp came from ever since."

"I'm guessing she has a bit of a tendency of getting herself in trouble..." the woman mused, sharing her son's worries.

"Well, yes..." he replied "And she might actually get into it. That's why I can't help but feel worried about her..." His mother smiled.

"Do you want to try helping her out?" she asked.

"Of course I do." he earnestly replied, making her smile grow wider. "But, truth be told, I don't fully grasp what kind of trouble she's facing myself, she won't let me help her that easily, and I don't know how far I can go." His head was a little hung as he pronounced those words. His mother sat beside him and patted his shoulder, making him look back at her.

"I know you can do it." she said, smiling warmly. "I've told you that I was a necklace maker once, didn't I?"

"Yes." Yoshimitsu nodded. "Around the time you had met dad, you used to craft necklaces as a hobby, and occasionally sell them in summer festivals in Chiba." His mother nodded in approval.

"You wanna know why I stopped?" she asked. Her son shook his head, eager to hear the answer to that question.

"Because you're my masterpiece." she said, patting his head "When you were born 17 years ago, it was the happiest moment of my life. Your father and I have always believed in you, and always will. You've made us proud time and time again, and I know for sure you'll do it again."

"Mom..." Yoshimitsu murmured, his eyes widened. His mother pulled him in a warm embrace. He couldn't help but hug her back.

"You'll always have my trust, as well as your father's." she murmured, caressing his hair "Whatever you set yourself to do, I know you can do it. Because you're my son. A masterpiece I could never sell to anyone. So, please, have faith in yourself, and in who you've chosen to put your trust in."

"Mom..." he murmured, tightening the hug. His eyes were shining. Then he smiled "Thank you..." They stood like that for some moments, then she pulled off.

"When someone's stubborn, you'll have to be stubborn in kind." she advised.

"Yeah, I was thinking that..." he mused, then he smiled again to her "Thank you, mom!"

"Also..." she said, still smiling "I can always make a necklace for you to give some special girl, if you want me to!" The statement made her son blush.

"Ah, th-thank you, mom..." he timidly replied, scratching the back of his head "Even though that might have to wait a little..." His reply gained him a gentle giggle from his mother.

Meanwhile, Hiniku wasn't planning to go back home straight away. She was planning to get new cards for her deck, to be better prepared, should one of the Omicron Crucis try challenging her again. Also, she was looking forward to getting better as a duelist in general. She called her mother to let her know. After a pair of standby beeps, she replied rather quickly.

"Hello?" her voice said on the phone.

"Hello, mom." Hiniku said.

"Oh, if it isn't my little Honey-chan! What is it?" her mother replied in a cheerful tone, which ticked off her daughter all the more.

"Knock it off already!" she replied in a gruff tone, before moving on to what she wanted to say. "Listen, I'll be back home a bit later today. I'll be heading to the Yellow Submarine to buy some new cards."

"Are you sure you'll be fine?" her mother asked, in a somewhat worried tone. The whereabouts of Robo-gimp were still unknown, and the same went for when and where it could possibly strike again.

"Yes." Hiniku replied "Don't worry. I'll be careful."

"Please, do." her mother replied. "And best of luck." The short girl sighed in response.

"Thank you." she said. "I shouldn't take too long." Suddenly, she could hear the sound of knocking on a door from the phone.

"Oh, a patient is about to enter!" the woman said. "Sorry, but I'll have to close. Be safe!"

"I will." her daughter replied. "I'll see you at home."

"See you at home, Honey-chan!" she said, in a cheerful tone, before closing the call just before Hiniku could protest. With a grunt, she put her phone back in her pocket and went on her way. She eventually reached the Yellow Submarine and could see that the hole was pretty much patched up. However, the card vendor was still in a stand right outside of it. Most likely scenario, the wall still needed to be checked in order to avoid spontaneous crumbles or similar occurrences.

"Oh, hello little girl!" he immediately recognized her "What can I do for you?" The short girl felt offended by being called little girl, but ignored it.

"I'm here for some Force of Will booster packs, thank you very much." she replied, matter-of-factly.

"Right away!" he cheerfully replied, before checking under the stand table and finding the requested items. "How many?" he asked. After checking her wallet, Hiniku decided on a number.

"5 will do." As soon as she chose, the vendor rose from behind the stand with the requested number of booster packs.

"There you go." he said. A smile made its way on the short girl's face as she took the packs and paid for them.

"Thank you, good sir!" she said, with a slight bow.

"You're welcome, little lady!" the vendor replied "Drop on by again! I would like to see you use those cards!"

"And you will see them, good sir!" she replied while putting the packs in the inner pocket of her uniform jacket and walking away. She preferred not to open them straight away, and to do so only behind the closed doors of her house.

" _The ace must be_ _kept out of sight..._ " she thought as she headed to the monorail. However, she felt something eerie following her. Watching her.

" _Ok, what is this?_ " she thought, slowing down her pace.

"Hmph."

A young man walked in front of the short girl, his face covered by a spike-edged purple and white mask. Hiniku stopped in her tracks as the youth stopped and turned his eyes to her.

"So..." he said, in an ominous tone "You must be Hiniku Kashikoi." The short girl kept a stoic and composed face, but was incredibly tense. She could see the Spirograph tattoo on his arm.

"You… You're from the Omicron Crucis, aren't you?" she replied. The youth nodded, extending his tattooed arm to the side.

"I am… The Demon." he replied.

" _The Demon?_ " Hiniku thought, reminiscing the words Unzari had left her and the Tetragram when the Yellow Submarine was attacked " _I have heard that name before… Where was it… Oh, yeah!_ "

"You're their leader, aren't you?" she said. In response, the mysterious youth chuckled darkly.

"My, you've got a good memory." he said "One that could be useful if you just stopped wasting your time..."

"I'm not joining you freaks." Hiniku tartly replied "I thought I was clear enough to your men."

"Transparently, I would say." the Demon replied.

"Then why do you still keep..." Just before the short girl could finish her sentence, the youth had vanished. Hiniku's stoic expression had slightly been broken, as her widened eyes could tell. It was then that she had heard a voice from right behind her shoulders.

"I've gotta ask..." She rapidly turned around and saw the Demon right behind her. Her eyes widened all the more, her shock clear to see on her face. The youth's eyes behind the mask seemed to narrow in amusement in seeing her expression.

"Is it… Because of this?" he said, showing her his glowing Spirograph tattoo, which was plain in sight even before. He chuckled and commented "Judging people from a tattoo? That's rich, coming from a little girl wearing plastic elf ears." Hiniku was angered by the youth's mockery, but her anger was largely overshadowed by her paralyzing shock, which could do nothing but grow and become something akin to terror when the Demon swiftly got his face close to her ear, grasping her shoulder, and murmured in a deep, dark tone.

"I've got my eye on you, Kashikoi. It's really pitiful to see a mind like yours drowning in the abyss of boredom. By coming with us, you could understand the place you really deserve, as the god among insects you are." Hiniku couldn't reply, paralyzed, as one of her fake elf ears fell off.

"You don't need to answer me right now." the Demon concluded "I'll always be watching you.", then he walked away, chuckling darkly. That ominous laugh echoed in the short girl's ears even after the mysterious youth was out of her sight. Her eyes remained wide like plates for some time. Then Hiniku snapped out of her shock, squeezing her eyes shut and balling her hands in fists.

" _No. I'm not l_ _etting you freaks get a hold of me_ _._ " She focused on this thought to regain her composure. She opened her eyes and saw her fake ear on the ground, knelt down and picked it up, then attached it back on her ear. She was still deeply impressed by that experience, but she put up all of her energies in trying to shake it off.

" _Calm down, Hiniku._ " she kept saying herself " _You can't let a freak like him scare you only by going boo like that. Besides, you still have one crucial advantage..._ " she put her hand on her jacket, just over the inner pocket in which the still unopened booster packs were resting, while she had resumed walking.

" _He still hasn't seen your ace..._ "

But, hard as she might, deep down she knew. She had played cat and mouse with people, making them uncomfortable, but the mysterious young man known as the Demon…

He was playing with her.


	23. Chapter 23: Preparations

Chapter 23: Preparations

After her unsettling encounter with the Demon, Hiniku Kashikoi made her way back home. She had already notified that she would be coming to her parents and she knew that her mother would be waiting for her at home, while her father would continue the work at the psychologist's office for the day.

However, despite hiding it as best as she could, she was still shaken from the meeting with the mysterious youth.

" _What the hell is he up to?_ " she kept thinking " _It was like, he was there once, and he was right behind me in the next moment! Is it because of that freaky tattoo?_ " Of course, she couldn't tell her parents about that. They might have tried probing even further and eventually find out about her investigations. That was the last thing the blonde short girl wanted to happen.

"I'm back." she said, entering.

"Welcome home, Honey-chan!" her mother replied cheerily, with a grin on her face. Her daughter replied with a soft grunt of irritation. The woman chuckled in response, since that meant her daughter still was herself. If her reaction was different, something was wrong.

"Have you opened your packs yet?" she asked. Hiniku shook her head while heading to her room.

"I'll be opening them now." she replied. She then went up the stairs, entered her room and sat at her desk, placing the packs in front of her. She began opening them and eyed her new cards carefully, with thoughtful eyes. In thinking about the way she could use them, the short girl temporarily forgot about the ominous guy known as the Demon. In that moment, she was in her element.

" _Hmmm…_ _I could do something with these..._ " she thought, a smile making its way on her face.

Meanwhile, Yoshimitsu was at home, revising for the History test which would have been held three days later. He examined the pages very carefully. Even though he was known to be the best History student in his class, he was clever enough not to be conceited about it. Instead, he made an effort to make sure that he remembered the required subjects adequately.

However, things didn't go as smooth as usual. There was something which was consistently surfacing on the fair-haired youth's mind. He kept thinking about Hiniku, her stubbornness and the trouble she would have faced, and might have begun facing already, for all he knew.

" _When someone's stubborn, you'll have to be stubborn in kind._ " His mother's words were still echoing in his mind.

" _I definitely won't be able to help her by myself..._ " he thought. " _I'll need Ryuuji's help. He knows about the Omicron Crucis more than we do..._ " He recalled his friend warning him to beware of Kaito Takahashi.

" _Even if he's not a member, they might very well be after him..._ " he thought " _How am I supposed to get more info about that, though? I don't know if to face him directly about it would be a good idea..._ " He could try asking Mizuki about it, but he felt bad. Somehow, he felt that wasn't a good idea, as well, especially considering how his behaviour is worrying her. To bring it up would only sadden her.

" _I'll have to ask Ryuuji for advice..._ " he concluded. Eventually he got through the revision session at last. He had half an hour left before dinner, and was going to use that time to see his new cards and try arranging something with them. Most of them were Fairy Tales, very viable with the famous Grimm.

" _Hmmm…_ _I might have an idea._ " he thought. And so, he began modifying the deck his father had given to him, inserting the new cards and swapping Puss in Boots with Grimm, the Fairy Tale Prince.

"Yoshimitsu! Dinner's almost ready!" Just as he had finished, his mother called from downstairs.

"I'm coming!" he readily replied and quickly dashed down the stairs. After not long, Yoshimitsu was eating dinner with his mother.

"So, how's the revision going?" the woman asked.

"I've done it for today." her son said "Of course, I'm planning to do it all again tomorrow and the day after, until the test hits." The statement made the woman smile.

"What were you doing just now?" she asked.

"Well, I was checking my deck." the fair-haired youth replied "After all, I have new cards to try out..."

"Nice!" his mother smiled "When are you planning to try them out with your friends?"

"I don't know..." Yoshimitsu replied "I'll need to talk about it with them."

"Why don't you make a group chat on your phone, so that you can always keep in touch with them?" his mother suggested. As she had finished speaking, a buzz could be heard from the youth's pocket. He fished out his phone and found out that he had been added in a group chat by Ryuuji. The name of the chatroom was, of course, "Sephiroth Tetragram".

"Mom, looks like my friends did that first." he said.

"Perfect timing, I'd say!" his mother smiled. "Have they written anything yet?"

"Doesn't seem like it..." Yoshimitsu said. There were no messages in the chatroom.

"Well, there might be some very soon." his mother said "Check it after dinner. Are your friends intent on helping your classmate, too?"

"Well..." he explained "They were with me and my classmate when the cyborg gimp attacked..."

" _But they had already warned her beforehand, telling her not to get in trouble, and yet she had been stubborn..._ " he avoided saying. " _Not to mention, she hadn't really given herself the best introduction..._ " He recalled how rocky her first meeting with Ryuuji, Nagisa and Daisuke had been.

"If you don't think you can make it on your own, remember you can always count on them." his mother smiled warmly. The youth smiled back and nodded. After dinner, he joined the chat and, just as his mother predicted, a conversation started.

"Hey, Yoshimitsu!" Ryuuji said "Welcome to our chat! We'll use this to share information, so that no one will be able to intercept us."

"Understood." Yoshimitsu typed "Thank you for letting me in! ^_^"

"You're welcome! ;)" he read, as a reply from the red-haired duelist.

"You could have thought about this earlier, you know?" Nagisa wrote. Even without emoticons, her annoyance and perplexity were evident in that reply. It was almost like hearing her talk.

"Yeah..." Ryuuji typed as an apology.

"Do we have any news?" Yoshimitsu typed.

"I'm afraid we don't..." Daisuke wrote "We decided not to meet today. We didn't want to risk being spied by that woman again..."

"I see..." Yoshimitsu typed.

"We'll have to be careful around them..." Nagisa typed "But the one who wrought the most trouble upon herself is Hiniku-san, without a doubt." Yoshimitsu let out a sigh while reading that message.

"The Omicron Crucis will most likely be after her..." Ryuuji typed.

"She won't let us help her that easily, I'm afraid..." Nagisa observed.

"Actually..." Ryuuji typed "If there's someone who can break through her stubbornness, that's Yoshimitsu." The statement made the youth gulp.

"I'll do my best." Yoshimitsu typed "But there's another problem. How do we know if they're eyeing Takahashi-senpai as well?"

"To ask him directly wouldn't be a good idea..." Daisuke typed.

"First of all, we'll have to find a way to understand if he's somehow involved with them to begin with." Nagisa typed.

"It would be a good idea to ask him about events in which they were involved, like Robo-gimp's rampages." Ryuuji suggested "The moment he pronounces their name, we'll know he knows about them."

"That's a bit barbaric of a strategy..." Nagisa commented "But we can always go with it, as long as he doesn't suspect Yoshimitsu to be researching about them."

"Are you planning to use element surprise, Nagisa?" Daisuke asked.

"Exactly." she confirmed.

"Wait, so I'll have to approach Takahashi-senpai and try asking that out?" he asked, gulping.

"...Yes, I'm afraid." Nagisa confirmed. "Just stay calm and everything will work out."

"Ok..." Yoshimitsu uncertainly replied.

"On a lighter note..." Ryuuji typed "How's it going with the deck?"

"I've modified it." Yoshimitsu readily replied.

"Did you think about it carefully?" Nagisa wrote "Did you take your time to plan it out?" Yoshimitsu got a little uneasy reading that question, but he did think about it in that half an hour, so he earnestly replied "Yes."

"I'm glad to hear that." she typed back. "It's best to do things carefully, rather than rushing them. Ryuuji, take notes."

"Hey! That was uncalled for!" Ryuuji replied.

"But, Nagisa." Daisuke observed "He's beginning to modify his usual rush tactic, as we could see in your last duel with him..."

"Yes, that's true." Nagisa couldn't help but agree. "Yoshimitsu-kun, do your best tomorrow!"

"Yes, Nagisa-san! I'll do my best!" the fair-haired youth typed.

"And good luck with the History test and the relative revision!" his red-haired friend added "Even though that'll surely be a pushover, if what our classmates say about you is true." Yoshimitsu felt embarrassed with that comment, but he replied nonetheless.

"Thank you so much!"

Everyone decided to call it a night and logged out in order to get ready for the next day.

Meanwhile, that same night, three people were gathered in an underground lab. There were two death-pale corpses laying on two hospital beds. A hint of their veins could be seen on their otherwise unsettlingly pale skins. One was a bald, muscled man, and he already had the signature gas mask of gimps. The other one was a tall man with a more harmonious body, who appeared to have been a casino owner when he was alive. The gas mask hadn't been put on his face yet.

"It's definitive, then." one of the people, a girl with short hair and tanned skin, dressed like a gothic lolita, said.

"I'm afraid it is, Unzari." another one, wearing a spike-edged mask, replied "Robo-gimp will be destroyed. It's clear that we can't control it anymore, so we have no choice."

"I'm sorry, my little Viper." the last one of the people, an alluring woman in a black dress, with long black hair covered by an ample hat, said while walking around the bed on which the former casino owner lied. "It was your creation, after all...~" Unzari shook her head in response.

"It's not that important." she replied "I can see how this is our only choice, given the trouble it has caused us. If there's anything I think needs apologies is having an idea which had revealed itself unproductive…"

"Oh, not at all.~" the woman replied "I can definitely see how useful it could have been."

"I don't think any of us had this outcome in mind." the masked youth added. "Soaku should get the job done and be back here soon."

"Of course you would send her to dispose of Robo-gimp..." Unzari commented with a yawn.

"Well..." the Demon replied "Considering her powers, she's the most suited for such a job."

"Of course, we can't risk such problems to surface again." the woman said, caressing the casino owner's lifeless face and looking at it with lustful eyes.

"I understand." Unzari said "I won't tamper with gimps again. The cyber enhancement project has failed."

"This might be used in our favour, as well." the masked youth remarked "It might lull our opponents in a false sense of security and allow us to make our preparations without any nuisance."

"Speaking of which..." Unzari asked "What about Kashikoi-san?"

"Oh, her?" the masked youth replied "That has been taken care of." As soon as he finished speaking, Unzari felt something breathing ominously over her shoulder.

"I see… You used **it** , right?" she asked.

"Exactly." he confirmed. "It's fun and always useful to put such pressure on others. Now, we should finish the preparations for our new gimp." The goth girl nodded and fetched from a drawer in the lab a steel brace with a small Spirograph symbol on it, then she applied it on the former casino owner's wrist.

"You will be my most delightful creation." the woman said, smirking deviously and putting her hands on the sides of the corpse's face "You will take care of pests and strike fear in the hearts of weak. Be born, my Duel-gimp!" A blinding black-violet light flashed and the gimps' signature gas mask appeared on the corpse's face.

While these preparations were underway in the lab, Robo-gimp was flying above Regent's Park, where the first encounter with the students of Makuhari High School had been. It stopped on a certain area, hovering ten feet above the earth, and scanned the area around it. A young woman with dyed red hair and blue eyes was waiting for it, hidden in the treetops. Once the enhanced gimp got closer to her hiding spot…

"Hi-yaaaa!" she jumped out with a roar, aiming a kick at it. However, just as it did the first time she tried kicking it, it avoided the kick, ready to flee again. However, this time, the fiery-haired girl wasn't unprepared.

"Advent!" she shouted, and something hit Robo-gimp, knocking it closer to ground level. The girl fell into a roll and swiftly got to her feet, not without hissing from slight pain from the prickles,

"Fuck..."

Robo-gimp was knocked heavily two more times by the mysterious invisible being. It almost touched the ground.

"You're not running away this time, bitch." the girl said, dusting off her top, with a smirk on her face "You looked cool, you really did, but now I've gotta kill you." With that, she extended her hand and the enhanced gimp was enflamed. In a few seconds, it exploded. Soaku stepped back and shielded herself from the light of the explosion with her arms, then, when nothing but flaming scraps were left, she put her arms down and the view which was disclosed to her eyes made her feel ecstatic. She began to cackle. Her cackle rose in pitch and volume, becoming an insane, nightmarish laughter, which echoed in the park.


	24. Chapter 24: Apparent Relief

Chapter 24: Apparent Relief

The following day, Yoshimitsu Hayashi got up and, after preparing himself and having breakfast, he went to school as his mother wished him a good day. It was usual routine. However, there was also something that had to be taken care of that day. The plan to investigate Kaito Takahashi's involvement with the mysterious Omicron Crucis had to be carried out that very day.

" _I just hope I don't screw this up…_ " he thought as he entered Makuhari High School. When he stepped inside the school building, he was greeted by the sound of chatter between the students. Everyone seemed eager to talk about a topic the fair-haired boy still couldn't properly figure out. Excitement and anxiety were in the air.

" _What are they talking about?_ " he wondered " _Something's brewing. I'd best get to my class and_ _ask_ _Zappa_ _about it_ _._ " The first classmate he had encountered upon entering the classroom was his long-time friend, who looked quite psyched.

"Hello, Zappa!" Yoshimitsu greeted him as usual, but he looked impatient to talk about something.

"Hey Yoshi! You've gotta check this out!" the spiky-haired boy exclaimed while he approached his friend, fished out his phone from his pocket, and showed him a pic showing the scorched remains of metallic gear, comprised of scorched black cloth. It didn't take long to Yoshimitsu to realize what that pic was really showing.

"Are these… The remains of Robo-gimp?!" he exclaimed, looking at his friend.

"Bingo, my man!" he happily replied. "These scraps were found in the early morning, and the news has quickly become the topic on everyone's mouths. Needless to say, I, Zappa Kurosawa, searched for this decisive proof as soon as I heard."

"But… Why was it destroyed? How did it end up like this?" Yoshimitsu couldn't help but wonder.

"I don't know and, to be honest, I don't think it matters that much now." Zappa replied "That thing's gone isn't it? That's fair enough in my book."

" _But..._ " The fair-haired boy's doubts weren't quenched " _Wasn't Robo-gimp important for the Omicron Crucis?_ " He was pulled from his thoughts by the sight of Hiniku Kashikoi entering the classroom. Her expression looked slightly less ready and focused than usual, and she didn't seem exactly in the mood to talk. This made Yoshimitsu worry about her, but it didn't seem to faze Zappa, who quickly approached her.

"Hey, Kashikoi-san! Have you heard?" he asked. Kashikoi stepped back in surprise, but recomposed herself in the blink of an eye and replied in her usual uninterested tone:

"What are you talking about, hedgehog?" Zappa ignored the derogatory nickname the short girl had given him, secretly exerting an immense amount of effort in doing so, and showed to her the picture depicting the remains of Robo-gimp.

"This is..." Hiniku's eyes widened at the sight of the picture, instantly understanding what those scraps used to be.

"Yeah." Zappa confirmed "This is, or should I say, was Robo-gimp."

"But… How did this happen?" Hiniku couldn't help but ask.

"I don't know..." Yoshimitsu reluctantly shook his head.

"Don't know." the spiky-haired boy replied "But at least it's gone, right? Even the big boss of Tanuki feels relieved with that!" That name rang a bell in both Yoshimitsu and Hiniku.

"Tanuki?" they both exclaimed in unison. Tanuki was the name of the corporation that owned the warehouse in which Hiniku and her "friends" went investigating, the one which was scorched by Soaku in order to erase evidence.

"Yes." Zappa nodded, showing his classmates a news entry on his phone.

"The news of the destruction of the mysterious robotic gimp which has struck terror in Chiba in recent days has been welcomed with relief by the entire community, in particular by Tanuki Corporation and by its current CEO, Lady Vela, who has declared "It is unknown to us how this has occurred. However, one thing I can say with certainty: Chiba can now rest much easier knowing that this mechanical monstrosity will no longer disturb its peace." After this discovery, the town is definitely hoping for these words to come true."

Close to the entry was the picture of a woman with long black hair and deep red eyes, whose lineaments looked very much mature and attractive. There was something sinister about that picture, however, or about the woman it was depicting, which Yoshimitsu didn't fail to perceive.

"Kurosawa-kun, Hayashi-kun, Kashikoi-san! The teacher is coming!" a student warned the three youths, who immediately sat at their desks. Then, the teacher arrived, and classes started.

The day went as smoothly as usual, with only one difference. Yoshimitsu would give worried glances to Hiniku from time to time. Despite her efforts to look like nothing had scarred her, she had her mind set on something or someone that had deeply impressed her. That was, without a doubt, in a negative way, and the fair-haired youth didn't fail to notice it.

" _When someone is s_ _tubborn, you'll have to be stubborn in kind._ "

He recalled his mother's advice, but he felt that he still wasn't ready. For the moment, at least. He knew he had to consult with Ryuuji before anything else. He briefly turned his eyes to his friend.

" _Zappa, I'll have to ask you to get my back..._ " he thought. Eventually, the first lessons of the day ended, and lunchtime came. Before leaving the classroom, the fair-haired boy approached his classmate.

"Zappa, would you please keep an eye on Hiniku-san?" he asked him. The elf-eared girl had already left the room when he had spoken to him. Zappa was easily able to understand his friend's concerns, since he had already told him about them the previous day, in the cafeteria with Ryuuji, and nodded.

"I'll do what I can." he replied, with a smile.

"Thank you." Yoshimitsu smiled back and left the classroom to search for Kaito and get his plan started.

Hiniku was doing something she had never done before. She was going to the cafeteria. Of course, she wasn't interested in socializing with her fellow students in the slightest. She was only going there in hopes of being able to hear more about the Omicron Crucis from Ryuuji. She knew that Yoshimitsu was bothered by them as well, even though not as much as her. Since the fair-haired boy was clearly referring to the red-haired newcomer for this matter, she hoped to draw something useful from the conversation he was most certainly about to have with him. As she was walking through the corridor, she was stopped in her tracks by an annoyingly familiar voice calling her.

"Hi, Hiniku-san!" It was none other than Ren calling her. She slightly jumped by reflex, something which the buzz-cut haired boy couldn't help but find unusual. She recomposed herself in the blink of an eye, hoping that her acquaintance would just roll with it.

"And what do you want?" she asked, in a gruff tone.

"Are you all right?" Ren couldn't help but ask.

"I'm fine." the short blonde replied in the same gruff tone while adjusting a wonky ear. "Just tell me what do you want."

"Uh..." Ren was slightly unsure, but he continued with what he wanted to say nonetheless "Have you heard about Robo-gimp and its remains?"

"Yes, I did." she replied, matter-of-factly. "It was not too long ago."

"Well, that's one less problem in my book." he cheerfully said. Hiniku couldn't help but sigh in annoyance.

"Maybe that's what they want us to believe..." she observed.

"You think so?" Ren couldn't help but say. "But, most importantly, are you going to keep tracking those guys down?" Hiniku felt tense at those words.

" _No, not you too_ _now_ _..._ " she thought.

"Listen, Hiniku-san." the fit boy continued "I understand how those guys bother you. I was with you when you decided to investigate, remember?" As he talked, the short girl's hands clenched in fists, without him noticing.

" _Of all things, why d_ _id you have to bring that up, Ren?_ " she thought.

"But it's clear that those freaks are way beyond our league. Maybe we should leave this stuff up to those who can handle it..." Ren continued "I don't want anything bad to happen to you, Hiniku-san..."

For a moment, Hiniku had mixed feelings about the words Ren had just spoken. If a part of her felt somewhat happy he had said that, another one still wanted to keep as much distance as possible with the annoying idiot. Eventually, the latter side of her, the one she was most accustomed with, prevailed.

"Is this another one of your poor attempts to put yourself under a better light with me?" she annoyedly replied.

"Hiniku-san..." Ren tried to explain himself, but the prideful girl cut him off before he could continue his statement.

"Now listen up, you idiotic, self-absorbed, barf-brained moron." she said "I don't need your help or your stupid concern. I'm on those freaks' tail because I need to get back at them for humiliating me like that, and that's all you need to know. Let me do my thing and leave me alone." With that said, she turned away, her hackles raised, and kept walking, heading to the stairs, leaving Ren with a concerned expression.

"Hiniku-san..." he whispered. Zappa, who was following Hiniku without her noticing, with the intent of finding out what was she was up to for the sake of his worried friend, approached him with a questioning look.

"What just happened?" he asked. Ren, with a forlorn and worried look in his eyes, merely shrugged, showing to be as clueless as he was about her. Zappa sighed and looked at the direction she was headed to.

" _Where is she going now?_ " he wondered.

"Ever since that loss, she hasn't been the same..." Ren mused, looking in the same direction, concern written all over his face.

"She might feel vulnerable." Zappa suggested, making the fit youth look at him "If that's the case, we both know she'll never admit it." He then went to the stairs as well.

Meanwhile, it didn't take long for Yoshimitsu to find Kaito. Thankfully, he seemed to be alone, and no one else would have been able to hear their conversation. When he saw him, he couldn't help but gulp, but then mustered all his courage and approached him.

"Um… Takahashi-senpai?" he asked. The upperclassman heard and turned to him, making him step back a bit.

"Yes, Hayashi-kun?" he asked, in a coldly polite tone, looking at him with his reddish eyes "I hope it's something worth taking my time for." Understanding that he couldn't back down then, the fair-haired youth continued,

"Um… Have you heard about the destruction of the robotic gimp?" he asked.

"Of course." Kaito sighed "How could I not? It has been the main topic of discussion in school the whole day."

"Well… What do you think?" he uncertainly asked. Kaito looked at him silently, as if puzzled by the reasons behind that question, then answers the question.

"Well, obviously everyone would be relieved to hear such news." he said "But the cause of the gimp's destruction hasn't been specified, which leaves room for doubt." Yoshimitsu listens carefully to his words "Since its actions seemed quite uncontrolled, it would be perfectly plausible to suppose that those pests of its builders have gotten rid of it." After hearing that, Yoshimitsu decided to get to the point.

"Those pests?" he asked "Does that mean you know about the Omicron Crucis as well?" The raven-haired young man's eyes slightly widened in surprise. Yoshimitsu continued "My friends and I have been investigating on it, and..." Kaito interrupted him by raising his hand and sighing.

"If you wanted to hear if I knew about them, you should've just asked me in the first place." he said, coldly "To be honest, I don't know that much either, I'd say I know about as much as you, and I couldn't care less." Yoshimitsu could tell he wasn't lying by the look in his eyes and was astonished by his upperclassman's lack of interest for such an important subject.

"H-How do you know about them?" he asked "And how does this not bother you?"

"The answer to both your questions is simple, Hayashi-kun." Kaito replied, matter-of-factly "Because they're not worth my time in the slightest, and yet they've been annoying me for the past weeks, desperately trying to get me to join a fight I'm not interested in. What a nuisance they are..."

"So they did try to get you on their side!" The fair-haired boy exclaimed.

"Yes, but, again, I couldn't care less." the raven-haired young man said, in his cold tone. "If that was your concern, then you've got your answers, so please stop wasting my time. I'm sure you have better things to do, as well." With that, he turned his back to the sophomore and walked away, leaving him dumbfounded. Eventually, in a few moments, the fair-haired youth recovered from his stupor and headed to the cafeteria, intent on passing the information he was able to collect to his friend.

At the cafeteria, he found a table where Ryuuji was sit, waiting for him. Zappa was there as well.

"Hey, Yoshimitsu!" Ryuuji waved, with a grin. "Sit here!"

"Heya Yoshi!" Zappa waved as well.

"Hey there, guys!" Yoshimitsu smiled back, sitting with them.

"So, how's it going?" the-fair haired duelist cheerfully asked.

"So far so good, thank you!" his classmate replied.

"Ah, Yoshi, any weird findings?" Zappa asked, in a tone which was slightly too high for comfort. Ryuuji looked at him with a grim look, since talks like that were supposed to be more discreet.

"Actually… I think I have one." Yoshimitsu replied in a more appropriate tone, making his classmates lean closer to him, eager to hear what he has found out. He then proceeded to explain "I've talked with Kaito. It seems that the Omicron Crucis have been trying to get him to join them, but..." He couldn't help but stop for a bit, still baffled by the words the upperclassman had left him.

"But?" his two friends urged him to continue, and he eventually did.

"But he has just… Shrugged them off like they were something unimportant..." The statement greatly surprised both of them.

"Is he for real?" Ryuuji couldn't help but comment, raising an eyebrow.

"So cool..." Zappa murmured, as he began daydreaming about his idol again. The red-haired duelist sitting beside him stared at him with an annoyed expression and even Yoshimitsu, who normally would have just let it slide with an embarrassed laugh, got slightly irritated.

"This is serious, Zappa!" he called his friend back to reality. "That's not cool. I would say that's downright creepy! I'm beginning to understand why Mizuki-san is worried about him..." Zappa couldn't help but smirk at his friend statement.

"Ahh, Mizuki-san...~" he said, then, leaning closer to an already blushing Yoshimitsu, he continued, in a quieter tone "You're all over her, aren't you?" The fair-haired youth's face became crimson red at the comment.

"Z-Z-Z-Zappa!" he embarrassedly replied. Ryuuji, who was clearly interested, turned to the spiky-haired boy.

"Is that true?" he asked "As much as I would want you to stop teasing him, I've gotta say I'm curious..."

"You have no idea, redhead!" Zappa excitedly replied, before beginning to recount past memories "It had started last year, right at the end of the school year. We were both freshmen back then, and so was she. He had met her by chance, and he had his mind set on her during summer holidays..." While he was explaining, Ryuuji was listening to him "Then, shortly after the start of the new year, he had met her again, and he's been head over heels for her ever since."

"Now's not the time, Zappa!" Yoshimitsu, after recovering from his embarrassment enough to be able to talk, stopped Zappa from talking "I'm seriously worried about this situation. I'm worried about Takahashi-senpai, and Mizuki-san, and Hiniku-san..." Ryuuji reached out a hand and put it on the tense youth's shoulder.

"Hey." he said, in a warm tone "You want to help them. I understand." Yoshimitsu looked at him. "But remember that you don't have to do this alone. Whoever you wish to help out, let me know, 'kay?" The youth's eyes widened, then he smiled and nodded at him.

"You got it." he said "Thank you..."

"Don't mention it, Yoshimitsu!" Ryuuji replied, with a grin on his face. "So, what do you have in mind?"

"Well..." Yoshimitsu thought for a moment, then said "I'll try helping Hiniku-san as best as I can, and I'll talk with Mizuki-san." Zappa was about to lean over the table and nudge his friend, but Ryuuji stopped him.

"Are you hoping to hear something from her about Oni?" he asked. The fair-haired youth shook his head.

"I can't just bring that up out of the blue..." he replied "I'm afraid Takahashi-senpai will have to wait. For now, I'll just have to stay by Mizuki-san's side. Maybe, in good time, I'll know enough about this situation to be able to do something about it..." While Zappa was still grinning mischievously at his friend, Ryuuji patted his shoulder again.

"Sounds like a plan. Best of luck, my friend." he wished him, not just with the problems he wanted to solve. The implicit wish for luck for him with the raven-haired girl was quite clear to understand, clear enough to make Yoshimitsu blush slightly about it.

"Th-thank you, Ryuuji…" he replied, then, he suddenly remembered something and turned to his spiky-haired friend. "Speaking of which, how's Hiniku doing?" Zappa's gaze had already fallen upon something which had caught his attention before the fair-haired youth had called him, something that he quickly referred to him.

"She still must be suffering from the blow those guys have inflicted her..." he said "I guess that's the only reason she could be doing things we've never seen her do before..."

"Like what?" Yoshimitsu asked, worry clear to sense in his voice.

"Like sitting in the cafeteria at lunch time, for example." he said, looking in a direction and wanting his friend to look as well. As he did so, the youth's eyes widened in great surprise as he was greeted with a sight he could never expect. Hiniku was sitting at one of the cafeteria tables. She was by herself, with no one else sit at her table, and seemed to be focused on the food she was eating. Ryuuji saw her as well.


	25. Chapter 25: Gamer Solidarity

Chapter 25: Gamer Solidarity

Yoshimitsu, Ryuuji, Zappa and Hiniku were back in class. There hadn't been much time to discuss Hiniku's reason for being there. However, it wasn't difficult for anyone of them to understand that she wanted to overhear their conversation, hoping to find out something useful. Hiniku couldn't help but let out a sigh. Of course, she didn't plan to get caught eavesdropping.

" _Darn..._ " she thought. Despite her outer appearance being calm and collected, she felt embarrassed. It wasn't like her to put herself in plain sight like that.

" _Of course she's still trying to get to them..._ " Ryuuji was thinking, annoyed by the short girl's action. " _When will she understand that her pride will only bring her into trouble?_ _We've_ _gotta do something about that, and fast..._ "

Eventually, the remaining classes for the day passed. Yoshimitsu headed to the exit with Zappa and Ryuuji. He had a look of worry on his face.

"What's on your mind, Yoshi?" Zappa asked.

"You're worried about what Hiniku could do, don't you?" Ryuuji said. The fair-haired youth nodded to that, and he patted his shoulder, trying to reassure him.

"I think we should talk with her, before she does something stupid again..." he said, looking in front of him.

"Yes, I agree..." the fair-haired boy replied. The three youths sped up their walking pace and, when they were at the school entrance gate, they had managed to catch up to their short classmate.

"Hiniku-san!" Yoshimitsu called, making the elf-eared girl turn. For a moment, Yoshimitsu could swear he had seen signs of surprise and even slight fear on her face. However, her face was composed as usual when facing them, leaving him to wonder if it was just a feeling.

"Yes? What is it?" she asked, a hint of annoyance was present in her voice. Ryuuji was the first to talk.

"You're still trying to get to the Omicron Crucis, aren't you?" he said, not hiding his concern and his irritation. Hiniku's eyes narrowed at that question. She sighed and tartly replied:

"Yes. What of it?"

"Well..." Zappa replied "It should be pretty clear that people like us shouldn't meddle with such stuff. I, Zappa Kurosawa, was there when we've seen them the first time, remember?" Ryuuji nodded to that.

"If you managed to get out of there, it was just out of luck!" he continued "We don't know what those guys are capable of. You can't take them lightly. You should stay safe."

"And do nothing while they're still roaming around?" the elf-eared girl retorted "I'm sorry, but that's just not like me." The red-haired duelist narrowed his eyes at that reply.

"Are you sure you're not on their track just because of some pride issue?" he said. He didn't know what had happened in the warehouse, but it must have certainly affected her, to the point of possibly being the reason of her pursuit. Knowing this, Yoshimitsu inwardly cringed at the low blow his friend had pulled off, while Hiniku reacted as expected.

"And what if it was?" she replied, her tone slightly more upset than usual. Yoshimitsu spoke.

"Is your pride really worth risking your life?" he said, in a concerned, upset and earnest tone. He then cast his gaze downwards "I'm seriously worried about you, and if I were to not see you again, I would be..." He did not see that Hiniku had made a step backwards. She was still baffled by the friendship the fair-haired youth was showing her, despite her odd behaviour, and it was beginning to unsettle her, especially because of how persistent he was about it. Not wanting to hear further from him, she abruptly turned her head to the side, as if something was calling her.

"What?" she said. "Oh, sorry! I'm coming right away!" The three youths talking to her were confused by her action.

"Sorry, I can't talk with you now." the elf-eared girl then said, turning back to them "I have to go back home now. See you tomorrow! And don't you forget about the History test in two days!" she then hurried away.

"Wait!" Yoshimitsu and Ryuuji called her in unison, but she had already ran off. Ryuuji grunted in annoyance while Yoshimitsu had a forlorn look on his features. Zappa's look, on the other hand, was more confused than anything else.

After putting up some distance between herself and the school, Hiniku looked behind her to ensure the youths hadn't been following her. She then looked around to see if anyone suspicious was close by. Much to her relief, there wasn't anyone else. Many thoughts crossed her mind as she walked back home.

" _Why does Yoshimitsu insist and worry so much for my safety?_ " she kept thinking " _What reason could he possibly have to be friends with me, someone so different from him?_ " For a moment, her train of thought was interrupted by something in the corner of her eye that looked ominous. She instantly turned her head in the direction of the suspicious shadow, but there was no one there. She then adjusted a wonky ear of hers and resumed her walk.

" _I don't think I could stop investigating on them anyway…_ " she thought " _From the looks of it, they have their eyes set on me. It's already too late for me to drop out safely..._ "

"What do we do..." Yoshimitsu asked, his voice was slightly trembling and filled with concern.

"I don't know..." Ryuuji said, sharing his friend's worries "The first thing that comes to mind would be to try contacting those who are closest with her..." The statement snapped Zappa out of his confused state, and he had an answer to that.

"You want her friends?" he replied, in a tone that became increasingly solemn "I, Zappa Kurosawa, can give you what you seek!"

"You can contact her friends?" the fair-haired youth exclaimed, immediately turning to him.

"Drop the high and mighty act, spiky-head, and get to the point." the red-haired duelist replied as well "How do you plan to do that?"

"Well..." the spiky-haired boy smirked confidently "I'm quite proud to say I'm among the most hardcore FPS players in Chiba, alongside one of Kashikoi-san's friends, Aichaku Renbo-kun!"

"So, you're planning to talk to him during a game and think of something with him?" Yoshimitsu asked, quickly understanding what he was up to.

"Bingo, my friend!" Zappa nodded.

"How often do you play with him?" Rayearth asked, not too sure about the actual chances of success of such a plan.

"Eh, I play with him a couple hours at least once a day." Zappa replied. The two youths needed no further confirmation of the applicability of the idea.

"All right, give me your phone number." Ryuuji said "I'll add you to the Sephiroth Tetragram chatroom. This way, you'll be better able to swiftly give us any information you find." The spiky-haired boy nodded and his phone number was quickly registered in the redhead's mobile.

"All right, see you tomorrow, guys!" Zappa said, heading home "I'll let you know as soon as I find anything out!" Ryuuji scowled at how loud he was about a topic that should have been treated more reservedly.

"See you tomorrow, Zappa!" Yoshimitsu happily saw him off. Ryuuji patted Taka's shoulder, catching his attention.

"That takes care of that, now let's talk about lighter stuff." he said "Say, Yoshimitsu, would you like to come to the Yellow Submarine for a test spin of our decks?" Both the youths knew that the shop had reopened, after repairs of the hole and adequate structure checking.

"Sure thing!" Taka replied eagerly.

"Great!" the red-haired boy exclaimed "Since the test is the day after tomorrow, it shouldn't affect your revision schedule too much. Besides, there's still some time to use for revision." Yoshimitsu nodded to his friend's statement. Ryuuji then patted the fair-haired youth's shoulder "See you later, Taka!" Yoshimitsu smiled at that.

"See you later, Rayearth-senpai!" he replied in kind, using his duel name. They then went their separate ways, heading home. Yoshimitsu eventually arrived home.

"I'm back!" he said as he entered. His mother hurried to the door and greeted him.

"Welcome back!" she cheerfully said, giving him a hug "Say, how's it going with your classmate?"

"Working on that." the fair-haired youth swiftly replied. "Thankfully I have the help of my friends with this."

"That's great to hear!" his mother smiled warmly.

"Also, I'm meeting up with my friends this afternoon!" he announced.

"Fantastic!" she smiled, but her expression turned serious a second later "Don't forget to revise first!"

"Don't worry, mom!" he assured "I was planning to do it!"

"Good boy!" she smiled as her son headed upstairs, with the intent of adequately revising his schoolwork. Meanwhile, Ryuuji arrived at the Yamazaki household as well. As he opened the door, he was quickly greeted by his mother and his little brother.

"Big bro!" Reiya ran at him as soon as he entered.

"Reiya!" he said, crouching a bit and giving him a high five, with a wide grin on his face. "How's it going?"

"Great!" he replied cheerily, as his mother arrived at the house entrance as well.

"Well, it's gonna go even better!" the red-haired duelist replied, patting his brother's head "Because this afternoon, I'll be taking you to see some duels!"

"R-Really?!" Reiya immediately piped up, his excitement rising. "Yaaay!" Their mother smiled, watching them.

"You boys haven't forgotten anything, have you?" she said. Her tone was cheery, but the topic she hinted was serious.

"Oh, hello mom!" Ryuuji smiled back at her "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten." The woman's smile became wider and warmer at that reply.

"Ok, Reiya." he then turned to his brother, patting his shoulders. "I've got some work to do now, then we're heading to the Yellow Submarine, ok?" Reiya nodded enthusiastically.

"The Yellow Submarine?" their mother asked "Wasn't that shop closed because of the attack from that cyborg?"

"Oh, it's open again!" her eldest son quickly explained "The hole is patched up now."

"I see..." the woman said, her expression showing concern "But please, stay safe!" The red-haired duelist nodded at her with a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry." he said "I'll take care." With that, he headed to his room, to do his homework.

Eventually, the first half of the afternoon passed. Yoshimitsu, Ryuuji and Reiya had finished their assignments for the day and had revised their schoolwork accordingly, and were about to head to the Yellow Submarine. Of course, Ryuuji had told his teammates about it beforehand through the chatroom. In the meantime, Zappa had been busy with his homework as well. He had almost finished when his father entered into his room.

"Heya! How's it going?" he merrily exclaimed, making his son turn around rapidly.

"Whew, you startled me for a second there." Zappa said. It was his father who had greeted him when he had come back home from school.

"How's the revision going?" he asked, in the same upbeat tone.

"So far so good." his son replied in kind "I'm almost done."

"That's good to hear." the man said. "What are you going to do next?"

"Oh, the usual thing." Zappa replied "I'll be playing. Hopefully I'll catch Ren again."

"You sure you're done, Zappa?" his father asked again, patting his shoulder. The spiky-haired boy gave him a thumbs up.

"Don't worry, dad!" he proudly proclaimed "I, Zappa Kurosawa, don't take things lightly." His father couldn't help but laugh lightly, since he knew his son very well, and he knew that statement wasn't always true.

"I hope you did with this, too." He tugged on his son's hair a bit.

"I-I did!" Zappa replied, feeling the strength of his father's grip. His father chuckled and patted his head, ruffling up his hair a bit, before walking away. As he walked away, Zappa couldn't help but chuckle back. A couple of minutes later, the spiky-haired boy had finished his homework and was ready to play one of his many FPS titles. He turned on his console, put the CD in it and started the video game session. After another couple minutes, Zappa could see that his gaming companion had turned his console on as well and immediately messaged him.

"Hey man, co-op shooting?" he typed.

"Right on!" he read after mere seconds, and so they began playing together as always, having loads of fun. Thanks to their microphone-equipped headphones, they were able to talk during the session. About half an hour later, the spiky-haired boy decided to move his talk with Ren to a more important topic.

"Say, Ren, let me ask you… What does Kashikoi-san like to do?" he asked.

"Huh?" the fit youth was confused by the sudden question "Why do you ask?"

"We're trying to reason with Kashikoi-san..." Zappa explained "But we'll need to talk to her first, and we both know how hard it is to hang out with her..." Ren couldn't help but sigh at the statement's undeniable truth.

"You're telling me..." he said "I was only able to hang out with her just recently, and I had to make up excuses!"

"Yeah..." the spiky-haired boy said "So… Do you know how we can possibly meet her?"

"Well..." Ren began thinking. "Tonma-san had told me something about that once..."

"Yeah, Fujiyu Tonma-san is the closest to her among us, after all..." Zappa couldn't help but add. Finally, the buzz-haired boy had an idea.

"That's it!" he exclaimed "She likes to go to the arcade!"

"Is that so?" Zappa replied "Well, she does like gaming… A lot..."

"And that's why I like her!" Ren added, the statement made his spiky-haired friend chuckle.

"I know, man, I know." he replied.

"Tonma-san had once told me..." the fit youth continued "She goes there during weekday afternoons, because less people are around by that time. You could drop by at that time and be able to find her easily."

"I should've known..." Zappa couldn't help but blurt out, before thanking his friend. "Thanks, buddy! Make sure to thank Fujiyu-san for me, too!"

"Will do!" Ren cheerily replied "Now cut the talking and let's get it on with the shooting!"

"You got it!" The spiky-haired gamer quickly got pumped up as the game session restarted. Meanwhile, Yoshimitsu and Ryuuji took their decks and got ready to head to the Yellow Submarine. As he went downstairs, Taka was greeted by his mother.

"Are you going to see your friends?" she asks, in a warm tone, with a sweet smile. Her son nodded at the question. She then wrapped him in a warm hug.

"Take your time with your them and get better in the game with them." she encouraged, patting his head.

"I will, mom, I will!" he replied, in a cheerful tone. He then headed to the door, but, just before he could get out.

"Yoshimitsu!" his mother called. As he turned, the fair-haired youth could see a concerned expression on her face.

"Please take care." His son quickly understood and smiled, with a reassuring nod.

"I'm off!" he said, as he went out the door. Meanwhile Ryuuji was ready to meet his friends as well.

"Let's go, Reiya!" he called, and his little brother quickly came up.

"I'm pumped up!" he said, as his big brother patted his head "I can't wait to see you duel again big bro!"

"Yoshimitsu is coming as well!" Rayearth added "You'll see him duel, too!"

"Really?!" the little red-haired boy excitedly exclaimed "That's awesome!" Their mother couldn't help but chuckle at how the brothers were close to each other.

"Yoshimitsu-kun is a nice boy, I'm sure he'll make for a great friend." she said, smiling "Don't let him go."

"Not a chance, mom!" Ryuuji assured her, in a confident tone. He and Reiya then headed to the door and got out of the Yamazaki house "We're off!"

"Take care!" their mother called out in a warm tone with hints of concern, as they went to their hideout and to their friends. Ryuuji chuckled, ruffling up his little brother's hair and making him chuckle as well as they walked on.


	26. Chapter 26: New Blades

Chapter 26: New Blades

Once he had arrived at the Yellow Submarine, Yoshimitsu Hayashi found his friends by its entrance. Ryuuji Yamazaki and his little brother Reiya had huge grins on their faces, Daisuke Hashimoto was adjusting his glasses with a more timid smile, and Nagisa Mizushima was sighing.

"Hello, Yoshi-san!" Reiya excitedly greeted the fair-haired youth.

"Welcome back!" Ryuuji added "We've missed this place a lot, and I think the owner missed us just as much, so let's get to it!" The statement earned him a chuckle from Taka.

"Yeah, it does feel nostalgic to be back here, even though it hasn't been that long." he said "It's here that I've learnt how to play, after all." Nagisa scowled.

"Why do we have to distract ourselves with such things?" she said, in a cold and quite annoyed tone "I wouldn't want you to forget we have more dangerous things to deal with, Ryuuji!"

"I haven't forgotten, Nagisa!" the red-haired duelist replied "But we can't give up our practice sessions, still!"

"I have to agree with Ryuuji." Daisuke suggested, making both of his teammates turn to him with confused expression.

"What?" Nagisa couldn't help but ask.

"Well, if we do this and keep a low profile, the Omicron Crucis might lower their guard down for not seeing us on their trail, and that would give us the chance to find out what they're up to..." he timidly suggested. Celestia dropped her gaze pensively, then nodded.

"You might have a point..." she mused "But I doubt Ryuuji had thought about that while calling us here."

"Can't deny that..." Rayearth said, scratching the back of his head, before he let out a sigh, making his teammate frown at him.

"Besides..." the duelist continued "We still don't know what they're capable of. Maybe Soaku and Mazui would let themselves be fooled like this, but Unzari and… **Him** are much smarter than that. I find it hard to believe that they will let their guard down." As well as everyone shivering from the mere mention of the Demon, everyone could agree with that.

"All the more reason to get here and train, in my book!" Ryuuji said. Then, he turned to his little brother "Besides, my brother is already excited to see us duel! Isn't that right, Reiya?"

"Mhm!" Reiya nodded vigorously "Can't wait to see you all in action! I'm looking forward to learn from you!" Daisuke couldn't help but smile and blush a bit at the comment, and even Nagisa's face couldn't help but soften a little in front of the little boy.

"So!" Ryuuji said, with a big grin plastered on his face "Shall we go in?" Nagisa's expression returned to a stoic frown at her teammate's statement, but still, she entered the Yellow Submarine along with everyone else, and approached Yoshimitsu.

"Yoshimitsu-kun." she said, in an apologetic tone "Please forgive my teammate. I wonder if he has only duels in his head more often than not..."

"That's not it at all." Yoshimitsu replied, without thinking, making the blue-eyed girl turn to him. He continued, with a bit of uncertainty in his voice due to her gaze cast upon him "Lately… H-He's been helping me with trying to reason with Hiniku-san..." Celestia slightly tilted her head to the side, then she spoke again.

"Yes." she said "I know what kind of guy he really is. Remember that I've known him for more time than you did..." Immediately, the fair-haired youth's skin became pale from the fear of having angered her, jumped back and bowed repeatedly.

"I'm deeply sorry, Nagisa-san!" he said "I'm terribly sorry, I didn't mean to berate your friendship with Ryuuji! I really didn't!" He stopped when he heard a giggle and, much to his surprise, he understood that it was from Nagisa, who was smiling at him.

"You don't need to apologize." she said, shaking her head. Ryuuji couldn't help but snicker at the scene.

"What is Yoshi-san doing?" Reiya asked, confused.

"He's being too polite, that's what." his brother replied, before turning to Yoshimitsu and calling him with a wink "Hey! Come over here! It's time to buy some booster packs!"

"Ah, coming!" Taka swiftly replied and hurried to the vendor's desk, along with Ryuuji and Reiya.

"Ah, it's so good to see you again, guys!" the vendor replied with a warm smile on his face.

"Same here, man!" Ryuuji replied, grinning.

"So, how many booster packs would you like?" the vendor asked.

"3 packs for me, please!" Reiya quickly said.

"I'm taking 5." Rayearth said, before turning to Taka "And you? How many are you taking?" The fair-haired youth thought about it for a moment, then he decided.

"I'm taking 3 too, please!" he said, making the vendor instantly pick up some booster packs from behind him and turn back to the clients, giving them what they wanted.

"Here you are." they said. The three players immediately began to open their newly acquired booster packs on the desk. Yoshimitsu couldn't help but smile, seeing that the cards he had found could have been pretty useful for his deck. But his joy was nothing compared to Ryuuji's.

"Oh yeah!" he exclaimed "I've finally found the Ruler I've been searching for so long!" Everyone turned to him.

"You mean..." Nagisa murmured in stupor as her teammate showed everyone his find. It was a Fire Ruler named "Falltgold, the Dragoon". It was a knight in a menacing red armor, armed with a spear. Its J-Ruler side, shown by Ryuuji shortly after, was an enormous and fiery dragon named "Bahamut, the Dragon King".

"I've finally found Bahamut!" Rayearth exclaimed, his eyes shining in happiness.

"Will you build a deck with it right away?" Nagisa asked, while Daisuke was still rendered silent from stupor, his eyes open wide.

"Not yet, maybe after this." Ryuuji said. "I'll have to elaborate a strategy with it, first." He then looked at Reiya, who was slightly confused with the cards he had found. He was just blankly staring at them, not knowing exactly what to do with them. Ryuuji lowered to his level and looked at the cards.

"Nice find, Reiya!"he said, smiling warmly.

"Really?" Reiya asked, beginning to get excited.

"Definitely!" he nodded "I can show you how you could use them, if you want."

"Yes, please!" he replied "But first, I want to see Yoshi-san duel." At the comment, Yoshimitsu couldn't help but blush.

"B-but why me, Reiya?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Because I've never seen you duel before, but I'd like to." the little boy replied. His big brother chuckled.

"You heard the boy, Yoshimitsu!" he added "It's still too soon for you to face Nagisa, who's the strongest of the three of us, so you'll be facing off against Daisuke!" Windam then stepped up, adjusting his glasses, and smiled at his opponent.

"I'm looking forward to learn from you." he said "Ryuuji had told me your dueling style is quite similar to mine..."

"It is?" Yoshimitsu asked, uncertainly.

"Daisuke is a control player." Ryuuji explained "He focuses on his opponent's plays and cancels the most dangerous ones. You've been using a similar strategy lately..." Eventually, the fair-haired youth understood what his red-haired friend was talking about.

"Oh, right!" he replied "Yeah, I do have cards for such a strategy in my deck..."

"I think it would be fitting to put you against someone who has a strategy much like yours." Ryuuji smiled "It would definitely help you improving." Yoshimitsu nodded at the remark.

"Yoshimitsu, have you got any interesting new cards you wanna add to your deck before we duel?" Daisuke asked.

"Actually, I have some..." the fair-haired youth replied.

"Then take a look at your deck before we begin!" Windam recommended, with a smile "Here, take a seat in front of me! I won't peek!"

"Thank you, Daisuke!" Yoshimitsu replied while complying. Then, he began looking at the cards in his deck and made the modifications he needed.

"I'm ready!" he said as soon as he had done.

"Good, let's begin then!" Daisuke replied while beginning to shuffle his cards before setting them in front of him. Once his opponent had done the same, the bespectacled duelist made a suggestion.

"We could decide who goes first with Rock, Paper, Scissors." he said. Taka nodded at that and they shook their fist twice before showing their chosen signs. Daisuke had his hand open like paper, while Yoshimitsu's fist was still closed like a rock.

"Looks like you go first, Yoshimitsu!" Daisuke remarked, with a smile. Yoshimitsu smiled back, nodding, as the two of them drew their initial 5 cards from their decks.

"I'm resting Grimm for a Magic Stone!" Taka proclaimed as he plucked a Stone from his stack. Much to his chagrin, it was a Light Stone, which didn't allow him to use his usual game start. Yoshimitsu looked at his hand, checking if there was still something he could do with that Stone.

"I'm summoning Tinker Bell, the Spirit!" he finally proclaimed, putting on the table one of his new entries. It was a Resonator with the cost of 1 Light will, and it had Flying as well as 0 Attack and Defense Points. However, its ability more than made up for it.

"Tinker Bell gains 200 Attack and Defense Points for every Fairy Tale I have on the Field, including itself." the fair-haired youth explained.

"So that means it has 200 Attack and Defense right now." Daisuke deduced. Yoshimitsu nodded.

"There's nothing else I can do now, so I'll end my turn." he said. Windam immediately drew a card from his deck and rested his Christie for a Wind Stone.

"I summon Elvish Priest from my hand!" he said, slamming on the table his will-producing monster and thus using the game start Yoshimitsu had always used in his previous duels.

" _When Ryuuji said Daisuke played a lot like me, he meant it!_ " Yoshimitsu thought. " _But_ _still, I'll_ _have to be on the lookout for other tricks he could pull off..._ " Since Daisuke couldn't use his monster's will ability right away, he had no choice but to pass the turn to his opponent.

"Your move, Yoshimitsu." he said, prompting the fair-haired duelist to draw a card, recover his Stones and rest his Ruler for a new one. Taka sighed in relief in seeing that he had gained a Gusting Skies.

"I'll summon Gretel." he proclaimed "And I'll use her entrance ability to check the next card of my Magic Stone deck." After putting on the table his own Human girl, the fair-haired duelist checked the first card of his Stone stack and sighed in relief again in seeing that it was a Wind Stone, which meant it was added to his other 2 Stones, ready to be used. Also, with 2 Fairy Tales on Yoshimitsu's Field, Tinker Bell had 400 Attack and Defense.

"I'll use my Wind Stone to summon my own Elvish Priest!" he said, slamming on the table his own will producer.

" _By using Daisuke's tactic, he had managed to invert the will gap in his favour..._ " Nagisa observed while watching the two duelists facing each other " _But for how long will Yoshimitsu-kun be able to keep his advantage up?_ " Ryuuji and Reiya were watching the duel as well, and while Reiya was smiling from amusement in watching the duel, Ryuuji was also admiring the progress Yoshimitsu had made.

" _For now they've been using the same tactics..._ " he thought " _..._ _This will get interesting!_ " Taka ended his turn and his opponent quickly drew and recovered, before resting Christie for a second Wind Stone.

"I'll rest my Elvish Priest to summon a second one, and then I'll summon Gretel!" Daisuke said, attempting his signature gamble, which his opponent had managed to pull off in his turn. Luckily, he managed to gain an extra Wind Stone as well.

" _With the Elvish Priest and that Stone, he has 2 wills open..._ " Yoshimitsu thought, as his opponent passed the turn to him " _He might use them for a counter..._ " He drew and recovered, before resting Grimm for a second Gusting Skies. " _Perhaps I shouldn't make moves which could put him on alert..._ "

"I'll summon Hansel!" he proclaimed, summoning Gretel's brother on the Field. As a consequence, Tinker Bell's strength rose to 600. Taka thought it safe enough to attempt a first strike on Windam's Life Points, since even the combined strength of the monsters the bespectacled duelist had on his Field was enough to destroy the little fairy after the attack.

"I'll attack you with Tinker Bell!" he said, resting his monster. Daisuke was unable to block due to Tinker Bell's Flying ability, and so his Life Points dropped to 3400.

"With that, it's your move, Daisuke!" Yoshimitsu said, with a smile, prompting his opponent to smile back and begin his turn, drawing and recovering. He then rested his Ruler for a 6th card for his hand.

"I'll summon Fina, the Silver Player!" he proclaimed, The summoned monster boosted the strength of all other Elves on Windam's Field by 400, rendering his Elvish Priests more resilient. Not only that, its presence made Tinker Bell lose its Flying ability, leaving it open to blocks.

"With that, I'll end my turn." he proclaimed, leaving his two Elvish Priests open for an eventual counter. Taka then drew and recovered, before resting Grimm for a Light Stone.

"I need to find a way around his Fina..." he thought, as he looked at the Field and at his hand, thinking about what he could do. He managed to think of a plan.

"First, I'll use Grimm's effect!" he said, resting one of his Stones as a cost for the ability, which could be used only once per turn "I can discard a Fairy Tale in my hand and look for another one in my deck!" He discarded from his hand a Light Fairy Tale, a Blinded Prince, exchanging it for an Athos of the Three Musketeers from his deck.

" _That's his most powerful monster!_ " Daisuke quickly realized, tensing up. Yoshimitsu decided not to summon it right away, knowing that his opponent might have a block ready for use. Instead, he summoned a second Tinker Bell, the Spirit, which had 800 Attack and Defense Points from the get-go due to the great presence of Fairy Tales in his player's Field. His first Tinker Bell had a strength of 800 as well.

With that summon, Taka ended his turn, prompting Windam to draw, recover and rest his Ruler for a Light Stone. However, just as he had gained it…

"I play Law of Silence!" Yoshimitsu quickly played his Quickcast Chant, trying to make his opponent lose a turn.

"I'm negating it with Absolute Cake Zone!" Daisuke countered it. However, the fair-haired duelist was prepared.

"I'll use an Absolute Cake Zone of my own to counter that." he said, surprising not only his opponent, but the rest of the Sephiroth Tetragram as well.

" _So he added that card in his deck as well..._ " Nagisa thought. Daisuke decided not to counter the card, and so lost a turn while its player gained an extra card, having 2 cards in his hand. Not wanting to waste his attacks and risk the destruction of his monsters, the bespectacled duelist had no choice but to pass the turn to his opponent, who drew, recovered and rested his Grimm for a Wind Stone. He had a plan for his turn.

"I'll summon Athos of the Three Musketeers from my hand!" he proclaimed. However, he was met with Windam's quick reaction.

"I'll negate the summon with my Absolute Cake Zone!" This time, Yoshimitsu had no means to counter the card, and Athos was sent to the graveyard before it could enter the field. He then moved to the second idea he had for his turn.

"I'll summon my second Gretel!" he proclaimed. He knew that its effect would have worked for sure, since he had only two Light Stones, while the remaining ones were eligible to be plucked out from the ability. In fact, he managed to gain his 7th stone, a third Gusting Skies. Also, the power of both his Tinker Bells rose to 1000.

"With that, it's your move!" he said, prompting her opponent to draw and recover. Daisuke then rested Christie for a 6th card for his hand.

"I'll summon my own Hansel." he proclaimed, and he had both the brothers on his Field as well. "Then, I'll play Light Palace, the King's Castle, buffing all my Humans by 200!" Both of the brothers were buffed as a result of the move.

"Lastly, I'll summon a second Gretel as well!" he proclaimed, trying to pull off his will gamble for a second time. However, Gretel's ability revealed a Light Stone as the first Stone in Windam's Magic Stone deck, thus marking the failure of the attempt. With nothing left to do, he ended his turn.

Yoshimitsu drew and recovered, before resting Grimm for a Wind Stone. He had only 2 cards in his hand, and he was planning to use one of them, hoping not to be countered.

"I'll summon Rapunzel, the Long-Haired Princess!" he proclaimed, putting on the table a cost 3 Resonator with 600 Attack and Defense Points. However, that monster's true purpose lied in its ability. "It can't be recovered during my usual Recovery Phase and I can recover it only by resting other Resonators of mine. I can rest it to grant the Flying ability, as well as an Attack boost of 200, to anyone of my Resonators!" Since it was a Fairy Tale Resonator, the Tinker Bells' power rose to 1200.

" _That card is remarkable!_ " Daisuke thought, tensing up " _That's his way around my Fina's effects! I'll have to be able to strike him down before he's able to use her..._ "

"Your move, Daisuke!" Taka said, prompting his opponent to draw and recover. He then rested his Ruler, gaining the Light Stone he had revealed in his previous turn.

"The card I've drawn is just what I needed!" Windam thought, looking at his hand, then he looked back at the Field.

"I'm summoning Elvish Bowman!" he proclaimed, before slamming on the table the Addition-destroying Elf, which entered the Field with 700 Attack and Defense Points due to Fina's boosting ability. "Then I'll summon a second Fina!" However, his second summon met his opponent's swift reaction.

"I'm negating the summon with Absolute Cake Zone!" Taka used the only card left in his hand, swapping it with another one from his Deck as he negated the dreaded summon which could have spelt his defeat. Stupor was on Daisuke's face as well as his teammates as they watched the rookie duelist pull off that maneuver.

" _I should've performed Christie's Judgment and destroyed that Rapunzel before he had a chance to use it..._ " Daisuke thought, quickly understanding he was about to lose. He passed the turn to his opponent, who drew and recovered, before resting Grimm for his last Stone, his fourth Gusting Skies. Yoshimitsu prepared himself to deliver the finishing blow.

"First, I'll summon Blinded Prince!" he proclaimed. It was a cost 2 Fairy Tale Resonator with 800 Attack and Defense Points, which, however, was unable to attack or block unless Rapunzel was on its player's Field as well. As a result of its summon, the Tinker Bells' power rose once more, reaching 1400.

"Then, I'm using Rapunzel's rest ability on one of my Tinker Bells!" he proclaimed. By being rested, Rapunzel restored Tinker Bell's Flying ability, as well as making its Attack Points reach 1600.

"Then, I'll rest my first Gretel to recover Rapunzel, so that she will be able to use her ability on my other Tinker Bell as well!" However, the power of two flying Tinker Bells with an attacking power of 1600 each was still not enough to finish off Windam, so Taka had to use Rapunzel's ability on a third monster of his.

"I'll recover Rapunzel with my second Gretel, then I'll use her ability on Hansel!" he proclaimed. Then, with a Hansel with 900 Attack Points, he was ready to attack. Due to the Flying ability, Daisuke was unable to block. The first one to attack was one of the Tinker Bells, who dropped his Life Points to 1800, then the other Tinker Bell's attack dropped his Life Points to 200. Lastly, the finishing blow was dealt by Yoshimitsu's Hansel, which thus secured the fair-haired youth's victory.

Daisuke smiled and extended his hand for his opponent to shake.

"Good game, Yoshimitsu!" he said "You've really grown up!"

"Thank you!" Yoshimitsu replied as he shook the bespectacled duelist's hand "I'm glad you think so!"

"You'll need it for next tournaments, and you're most certainly on the right track!" Windam cheerfully concluded before beginning to clap his hands for Taka, soon to be joined by his other teammates and Reiya. The fair-haired youth couldn't help but blush, stand up from his chair and bow repeatedly.

"Thank you! Thank you all so much!" he said.

"Way to go, Yoshimitsu!" Ryuuji exclaimed "Keep it up, man!"

"That was awesome, Yoshi-san!" Reiya cheered "I knew you were great!"

"Congratulations, Yoshimitsu-kun!" Nagisa said, smiling rather warmly. When Yoshimitsu noticed, he couldn't help but blush, since he wasn't used to see her smile like that. However, he was wise enough not to say anything about it and covered his blush up with a warm smile of his own.

"I would say more, but I think Daisuke's words sum up what I wanted to say." Celestia concluded, with that smile still on her face.

"You'll be rising the ranks in no time!" Rayearth said, cheerfully, patting his shoulder.

"Thank you, Ryuuji!" Yoshimitsu replied, his eyes shining. In that moment, the Sephiroth Tetragram members' mobile phones began vibrating in their pockets. The fair-haired youth's phone was vibrating as well. They had received a message in their chatroom from Zappa.

"Guys, I know how to catch Kashikoi-san!" he had typed "It seems she likes to go to the arcade in weekday afternoons, because there aren't as many people as there would be during weekends."

"Yeah." she couldn't help but sigh "She is quite the solo player, isn't she?"

"Um..." Reiya said, slightly confused "Who are you talking about?"

"Oh, nothing!" Yoshimitsu quickly replied. "We're just talking about a friend of ours.

" _Friend? That's a bit of an exaggeration..._ " Celestia thought, though she was clever enough not to betray such thoughts in front of little Reiya.

"So, what's the plan?" Daisuke asked, adjusting his glasses.

"I have one." Ryuuji exclaimed "Yoshimitsu and I will try going there on Monday afternoon in hopes of finding her. If we do, we'll take her by surprise..."

"I think we should spend some time with her to begin with..." the fair-haired youth mused "There's no better way of making a person warm up to you than do something she likes to do with her."

"I couldn't agree more!" the red-haired duelist replied, with a big grin on his face.

"Ryuuji-kun, Yoshimitsu-kun, best of luck." Nagisa said, her tone had resumed its original, slightly cold color.

"Thank you, Nagisa-san!" Yoshimitsu replied, bowing politely. Ryuuji snickered at his excessively polite antics.

"Thank you, Nagisa!" he then replied to his companion, with a smile.

" _Hopefully this will help us..._ " Nagisa thought.


End file.
